00:00:07
Speaker 1: Thanks, James. Yes, a massive show tonight.
00:00:09
Speaker 2: Aussie legend Dawn Fraser tells me the Royal Commission has failed the pub test.
00:00:14
Speaker 1: She's demanding action.
00:00:16
Speaker 2: Also on the show, the housing market is facing the largest crash in 40 years.
00:00:21
Speaker 1: And today, Ray Hadley.
00:00:22
Speaker 2: Has given evidence against Alan Jones in an explosive day in court.
00:00:27
Speaker 1: We've got the details.
00:00:28
Speaker 2: Plus, TV star Mark Holden blasts from the past. He joins us live with a special new song. And we'll get the latest in Nepal on the missing Australians and what they were doing in their final moments before the floods hit. Packed show, powerhouse guests, Nick Coatsworth, Cameron Milner, Jonathan Dunyan.
00:00:48
Speaker 1: Michael Stutchbury, Mark Holden. Let's get into it.
00:00:52
Speaker 2: Well, Australian sporting legend Dawn Fraser has declared the Royal Commission has failed the pub test. She's urging Commissioner Virginia Bell to call... Albanese government ministers and Islamist organisations to the stand. This is a damning intervention from the former swimmer, whose press conference at the Bondi Memorial site first prompted Albanese to call the Royal Commission and backflip on his opposition. In exclusive comments, Dawn Fraser tells me, it's not too late for the Royal Commission to do the right thing.
00:01:27
Speaker 1: I hope it does.
00:01:29
Speaker 2: She says the Royal Commission has allowed cross-examination of Jewish witnesses sharing their stories, but it hasn't called ministers to give evidence, hasn't called members of Islamist organisations active in the anti-Israel protests and hasn't investigated the sources, origins and growth of Islamist extremism, which pose national security challenges for Australia. Dawn Fraser says this fails both the pub test and and the test of those with the proper qualifications. Now, you'll remember that very powerful moment earlier this year in January when Dawn Fraser walked down to the memorial site at Bondi and she expressed the anger and hurt that so many Australians right around the country were feeling.
00:02:21
Speaker 3: And to you, Anthony Albanese, Tony Burke, Penny Wong, come down off your high horse and stop trying to run for cover. If the Jewish community is calling for a royal commissioner, then do the right thing by this community. And that has suffered enough.
00:02:40
Speaker 2: It was those comments, it was that press conference that meant Anthony Albanese changed his mind.
00:02:46
Speaker 1: He'd been withholding.
00:02:49
Speaker 2: He'd been refusing to call a royal commission for four weeks. But now Dawn Fraser says she's been let down. Here's what she told me. She says it was my hope and expectation that the Royal Commission would fearlessly investigate the unprecedented harassment, intimidation and violence that had been directed at the Australian Jewish community since October.
00:03:12
Speaker 4: 7, 2023.
00:03:13
Speaker 2: What followed is not at all what I or many of the others involved at the time envisaged. Now, she adds to the growing chorus of prominent leaders, politicians, national security figures and legal experts who are urging the Royal Commission to be extended and for it to actually use its inquisitorial powers to thoroughly examine the drivers of hate. You think back to past Royal Commissions, like the Police Wood Royal Commission in the 90s, which unearthed serious corruption, which made a difference. And it makes this one look like a missed opportunity. Can I just say how good is Dawn Fraser? She remains a legend to this day. I'm so grateful to her voice.
00:04:03
Speaker 1: For speaking out.
00:04:04
Speaker 2: And I'm going to come back to that topic a bit later with John O'Donoghue, the Shadow Home Affairs Minister. But let's turn now to the housing market because it's facing the largest crash in 40 years. And this is shaping up to be Anthony Albanese's unwanted legacy. Interest rate rises, a housing market crash, the most persistent period of high inflation in modern Australian history. And added to that, as we've been speaking about, Australia's deadliest.
00:04:33
Speaker 1: Ever terror attack.
00:04:35
Speaker 2: Well, today, leading economists are warning that Australia could even be heading towards stagflation or recession. Forecasters at Goldman Sachs and HSBC are now predicting zero growth this quarter. And property analytics firm Totality has recorded a 4.7% drop in dwelling prices in Sydney. If the trend continues, this would amount to an 18% annual crash. Now, the Fin Review puts a dollar figure on this, reporting that the average value of a Sydney home has slumped by $ 100, 000 this.
00:05:12
Speaker 1: Just since February.
00:05:14
Speaker 2: And they say there's warnings that a nationwide property downturn has become entrenched. And new data shows that pessimism is seeping into other parts of the economy, with a slowdown in credit card spending and falling traffic at major retailers such as Harvey Norman and JB Hi-Fi. Esteemed property analyst Louis Christopher spoke about this a little earlier on Business Now.
00:05:41
Speaker 5: The change came when we had the first interest rate rise. Then the market was absolutely hammered by the property taxation changes, creating a lot of uncertainty in terms of where people stood on capital gains.
00:05:55
Speaker 2: Now, what makes this just so infuriating is that this housing market crunch and the slowing economy has been deliberately caused, deliberately created by the Albanese government. Labor has long dreamt of winding back what it saw as unfair tax concessions on negative gearing and capital gains. But this has only led to landlords and property investors having to put up rents to cover the lower returns. So this is just pushing up the rental market for the people the government claimed it wanted to help. And it's a point New South Wales opposition leader Kelly Sloan referred to today.
00:06:36
Speaker 6: Now, if that was helping someone else, then you can see the balance. But first home buyers are suffering as well because there's a market squeeze.
00:06:45
Speaker 1: Rents are going up. So if they're trying to.
00:06:47
Speaker 6: Save for a mortgage, there's been the biggest spike in rents in Sydney in recent times. And we're seeing a pessimism flow into the market. And this is because of Labor's bad budget, because of successive interest rate hikes and because of a downturn in our economy on their watch.
00:07:03
Speaker 2: And the Albanese government has also chosen not to tackle inflation by continuing government spending at record levels. Spending has never been higher. Neither has government debt. And it's Australians who are paying the price for this high inflation with rate rises. Remember when the Prime Minister, well, he was the opposition leader then, when Albanese blamed a single interest rate rise on the then Prime Minister, Scott Morrison.
00:07:34
Speaker 7: What we know is that under Scott Morrison, cost of living is in crisis. We know that the price of everything is going up, but people's wages aren't. And today, potentially, we face the triple whammy. Lower wages, rising inflation and rising interest rates. Scott Morrison, of course, is happy to always take credit for anything that goes right. But he always says, it's not my job. It's someone else's fault. It's nothing to do with me when things aren't going so well.
00:08:09
Speaker 1: It's amazing.
00:08:10
Speaker 2: He could be speaking about himself. There had been just one rate rise under Scott Morrison. There have now been 15 on Albanese's watch. Yet he hasn't accepted responsibility or even come close to apologising. And no acknowledgement of what those rises have done to mortgages or household budgets. And now the value of people's homes, their greatest asset, is falling as well.
00:08:40
Speaker 1: Now, for families, this isn't political or ideological.
00:08:45
Speaker 2: It's their savings, their retirement, their future, their children's inheritance, their financial security. This is real money for families across Australia. And ultimately, the Albanese government is messing with the great Australian dream of owning a home. And knowing that years of hard work will leave you better off. Because now the value of your home, your dream, your nest egg is going backwards. And this is the Prime Minister's legacy.
00:09:16
Speaker 1: And he won't be forgiven for it.
00:09:23
Speaker 2: Well, they've been the two biggest names in radio, Alan Jones and Ray Hadley. Their history dates back 35 years. They were rivals and they ruled the air, grilling politicians every morning. And now their relationship is under the spotlight, warts and all, in court. The evidence relates to allegations made by complainant C. He was first employed to work at 2GB and then became Alan Jones's driver. Hadley gave evidence today and he said that in 2019, C told him in a private conversation that Jones had sexually assaulted him on different occasions, including in lift wells. Ray Hadley said in court at various times he broke down and sobbed. I just stopped, let him compose himself, offered my support and let him continue. Hadley said he felt sorry for him and spoke about another alleged incident at lunch where C claimed Jones had touched him under the table. Hadley told the court today he was embarrassed by it and I felt helpless. Hadley said he offered to accompany C to a police station but that he refused to go, saying that Jones was too powerful. Now, Hadley also revealed that he rang a Sydney Morning Herald columnist, Peter Fitzsimons, and told him, about C's allegations. And here's more from Our News 24 reporter Carolyn Marcus, who was at the court today.
00:10:57
Speaker 8: An accuser who can only be known as Complainant C had earlier told the court that it was Mr Hadley who put him in touch with columnist Peter Fitzsimons. after he disclosed Mr. Jones' alleged offending. That led to the accuser next speaking to a journalist, Kate McClymont, who broke the story. Mr. Jones' lawyers are seeking to show the bitter rivalry between Mr.
00:11:24
Speaker 1: Hadley and Mr.
00:11:25
Speaker 8: Jones was the motive behind complainancy's disclosure.
00:11:33
Speaker 2: So as you heard, the court was also told that tensions were rife between Hadley and Jones, with former senior producer for Jones, James Willis, saying that Hadley had signed a secret deal to take over the coveted breakfast slot from Jones. He said, while this was meant to be a secret, it had spread through the corridors enough that our team, including Jones, had been aware of it. In the end, Hadley was only questioned for just over an hour before the judge cut his evidence short over a legal issue. He was eventually excused and he will take the stand again at 10am tomorrow.
00:12:08
Speaker 1: Alan Jones denies all allegations.
00:12:15
Speaker 2: Now, I'm going to return to the housing crunch. It is the biggest story at the moment. I'm going to return to it later with Michael Stutchbury, the former editor-in-chief of The Fin Review. But now let's get the latest on Nepal, where the death toll has tragically passed 1,000 people. And joining me now live from Taipei is News24 Asia correspondent Stas Butler.
00:12:35
Speaker 1: Great to see you again.
00:12:36
Speaker 2: Now, tell us about this Australian, Michael Keats, because we heard from his partner Stas, that he had, that she believed he had been killed in these landslides in Nepal. But the Foreign Minister, Penny Wong, is saying that this isn't confirmed. And in fact, let's bring those comments from Penny right now.
00:12:56
Speaker 9: My thoughts are with Mr Keats' family and with all the families and friends of the 43 Australians who are currently unaccounted for and whose welfare we are urgently seeking to confirm. We've not received official confirmation. We respect the family's rights to make a public statement.
00:13:18
Speaker 1: Yeah, so what do we know? Is Michael alive or not?
00:13:23
Speaker 10: Well, I mean, I think the foreign minister there clarifying that essentially what we're seeing is that the Australian government hasn't received any formal identification of any victims. Often, you know, in this case, the Nepalese authorities, the Nepali authorities have pulled, you know, several hundred bodies over 900. Now, as you said, the death toll combined across China and Nepal has passed a thousand. Many of those bodies, by my understanding, have not been identified. So there is a formal identification process that obviously needs to, you know.
00:13:57
Speaker 11: go through.
00:13:57
Speaker 10: And I think that the process here is that, as the foreign minister has made clear, there hasn't been formal identification. The government's position is that they're not going to announce the death formally until they have that confirmation from the Nepali authorities. But they respect the wishes of families to announce that death if they so wish.
00:14:18
Speaker 2: And Stash, there is some better news, though. A second Australian, we're being told, has been found alive.
00:14:25
Speaker 11: That's right.
00:14:26
Speaker 10: So we have the number of missing Australians ticking down from 43 to 42. It ticked down earlier when Cara Severino, a hiker, made contact with authorities. That's really the hopeful scenario here for many of those missing Australians, is that given the disruption to infrastructure, the damage to obviously cell phone towers, but also roads, train lines, all other kinds of things that that simply contact may have been lost in many cases that many of these missing Australians can hopefully get back in touch. But of course, the wait still goes on for so many families, Australian and Nepali as well. I've spoken to two Nepali tour operators, one who's still got two guides missing, still has no news on their situation, although a team has been sent out to find them. Another who's missing, an uncle and uncle's family, Still waiting for news of them, too. They were on a pilgrimage to a sacred lake high up in the mountains before contact was lost. He says to me, admitting that he has very little hope that they'll still be found alive. Of course, there's a lot to be done. Rescues ongoing of personnel trapped in hydropower plants and also the grim task, as I said, of identifying the dead. One of the main things that's being sent in terms of aid coming from other countries, including China, among others, is DNA kits to do just that thing and notify the next of kin when their loved ones are found.
00:15:52
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's just so sad. Stash Butler, thank you so much for the update.
00:15:58
Speaker 2: OK, let's turn now to the row between the Albanese government and One Nation. Now, Attorney-General Michelle Rowland has again linked Pauline Hanson's party to neo-Nazis.
00:16:09
Speaker 1: Have a look.
00:16:10
Speaker 12: I would suggest that Senator Hanson should examine what her party and what her ideology and her behaviour is doing and whether or not that is encouraging that. When you admit that you have a party that has been infiltrated by extremists and neo-Nazis, This is exactly the kind of dangers to which politicians are being put in this country.
00:16:34
Speaker 2: Now, I've been told that it is true that neo-Nazis have been joining One Nation. But furious, Pauline Hanson snapped back. She said millions of Australians support One Nation. They're not extremists. They're not dangerous. And ministers should not use language that encourages others to treat them as if they are. And to discuss former Labor State Secretary Cameron Milner and former Deputy Chief Medical.
00:16:58
Speaker 1: Officer Dr Nick Coatsworth, join me now. Great to see you both.
00:17:02
Speaker 2: Now, Michelle Rowland also claimed that it's Pauline's own language leading to the threats against her.
00:17:08
Speaker 1: Let's have a look at that comment.
00:17:10
Speaker 12: I don't wish ill on Ms Hanson in a physical way.
00:17:13
Speaker 1: I don't wish any politician any ill will.
00:17:15
Speaker 12: Irrespective of their political persuasion. But I think sometimes when comments like this are made, one needs to look at oneself and one's behaviour and the kinds of standards that they accept into their own party and their own ideology.
00:17:31
Speaker 2: I mean, Cameron, I think these are extraordinary comments. I mean, Pauline is receiving death threats every and Labor is blaming her for it?
00:17:43
Speaker 13: Well, isn't the hypocrisy rife? But, I mean, Labor's running scared after Secret Harbour. I mean, Labor told everyone that One Nation was a right-of-centre problem for the Liberal Party, for the National Party.
00:17:54
Speaker 11: It's not.
00:17:55
Speaker 13: It's a problem for all political parties where weak leadership leads to voters actually wanting change, and Pauline Hanson represents that change right now. And to the comments about, you know, kind of dangerous extremism, et cetera, et cetera, this is Labor just throwing political confetti any which way rather than admitting the elephant in the room, the contributing factor to why Labor's losing Secret Harbour, you know, losing votes in Victoria is Albanese and his weakness as a federal prime minister and his inability to lead this nation on issues like Bondi and others. And that's what's lit the fire under the voters out there and Pauline Hanson's leading that.
00:18:29
Speaker 1: You're 100% right. Nick, what do you think?
00:18:32
Speaker 2: Should Labor ministers be more careful with their language? I mean, what if, God forbid, if something serious does happen?
00:18:40
Speaker 14: Well, Sherry, I think on some level everybody's got to be more careful with their language. And, look, we have a lot to preserve in Australia in terms of rational political discourse. I can tell you, despite being one of the most recognised figures of the COVID pandemic and despite the polarisation that has caused within Australia's community, I've only been stopped three times in the street with negative comments levelled at me, one who was supporting restrictions, one who wasn't, and one person who was disturbed. And I think that's an example of what we need to preserve in the country. I think Michelle Rowland levelling those accusations at Pauline Hanson, well, I couldn't agree more with Cameron there. I think A lot of what Pauline says is about the cut and thrust of politics. And to be honest, if Labor continues down this path, then I think more than one person today has reminded us of Hillary Clinton's basket of deplorables comments with why she lost her the first election to Trump. That is the direction that this will go.
00:19:35
Speaker 12: So.
00:19:36
Speaker 14: If that's their tactics, there'll be a lot of conservative voters out there who are very happy with it. And it does appear that Albanese is, you know, he's long said his battles with conservatives, one assumed it was conservative politicians, but his battle might actually be with conservative voters in Australia and that will probably lose him an election.
00:19:55
Speaker 10: I mean, the.
00:19:55
Speaker 2: Interesting thing, though, is that it's not only Conservatives supporting One Nation. You know, there are Labor voters turning to One Nation too, as, of course, we saw with Secret Harbour. And so, Cameron, do you think, given this is the One Nation support base, do you think Labor, particularly the Prime Minister, but his senior ministers too, are mishandling the rise of Pauline? And, you know, Albanese's insulting voters, really, when he insults her.
00:20:22
Speaker 11: Oh, absolutely.
00:20:23
Speaker 13: Labor, to Nick's point before, is handling this terribly. It's handling this terribly. But it's such an inside the beltway Canberra type reaction. Rather than actually meeting voters, actually understanding the hurt they're going through, this Labor government's been running scared, running scared from the cost of living crisis, running scared from the inflation crisis that this country's under because of the government decisions. And that's the problem for Labor. Labor can't own up and can't tell the truth and be honest with voters out there because it would actually admit fault. And that's the real problem. I mean, Pauline Hanson's point is, you know, if Albo was just a better Prime Minister, if he could actually admit fault today, then maybe the country would be a better place as well.
00:20:59
Speaker 2: Yeah, there couldn't be a greater contrast with Chris Minns. He's constantly admitting that he could do better and voters appreciate that.
00:21:07
Speaker 1: It's authentic.
00:21:08
Speaker 2: Whereas Albanese can't ever admit he was wrong, never, not even when it's blindingly.
00:21:14
Speaker 1: Obvious to the rest of us.
00:21:16
Speaker 2: All right, let's turn to the tobacco excise because starting today, a single cigarette will now cost a record $ 1.
00:21:22
Speaker 11: 55.
00:21:22
Speaker 2: It takes a packet to between $ 40 and $ 60.
00:21:24
Speaker 11: Now.
00:21:28
Speaker 2: Nick, the government's under pressure over this, not so much from a health perspective, although I am interested to hear your perspective on whether there is any health benefit to having these high taxes, but more because it's led to this spate of firebombings and criminal activity.
00:21:43
Speaker 11: Nick?
00:21:44
Speaker 14: Well, Sherry, they're under fire from a health perspective, an economic perspective and a law enforcement perspective. Let me tell you that the last person who quit smoking because of high tobacco prices, high legal cigarette prices, probably did it about five years ago. And the incremental benefit of increasing the excise now is just to put more price differential between the legal and the illicit product and drive the problems with law enforcement, decrease the amount of revenue and increase the accessibility of illicit tobacco on our streets that our kids and smokers are accessing. I mean, tobacco has never been cheaper in Australia, and that is the fault of consecutive coalition and Labor governments, but it happens to be Labor in at the moment. It just shows you how incredibly inert we are as a government or a political class when we continue on September 1st to increase the price of a cigarette when we know that that the policy is not working. And I would really, I've said this publicly at the Press Club, I would really like to see that excess come down to 2019 levels or even less. We have to decrease that differential between the price of illegal and illicit tobacco to get control back over this market.
00:23:01
Speaker 2: It's kind of amazing, isn't it, Cameron, to see a government policy cause a whole new crime wave?
00:23:10
Speaker 13: Oh, absolutely. And I think, Nick, I'd go even stronger. I mean, I think this is an abject failure of public policy.
00:23:15
Speaker 11: Abject failure.
00:23:16
Speaker 13: I mean, we have a situation where 80% of smokes out there are bought from the black market, bought from organised crime. I mean, the tax revenues are falling because they're failing. I mean, so there's not even a health warning on the packets that are brought in by Manchester, made in Dubai, sold by some Lebanese crime gang on the streets out there. I mean, this is terrible what's happening in Australia.
00:23:34
Speaker 8: Terrible.
00:23:34
Speaker 13: And not only that, to your point, Shari, you know, you've got, you know, evidence now from our security services that the Iranian army contacted some of these fire bombers to go and bomb a Jewish synagogue, allegedly. I mean, this is the level of criminal activity funded by an abject failure in public policy that's not raising the tax revenue, is putting health at risk and lives at risk because of the amount of organised crime and violent organised crime that's now occurring.
00:23:58
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, absolutely right. Great to have you both.
00:24:01
Speaker 2: And, Nick, I think it's the first time I've had you on the show since the COVID pandemic, so I hope you'll come back again.
00:24:06
Speaker 1: That's correct, Sherry. Great to see you both.
00:24:07
Speaker 9: Nice to be back.
00:24:08
Speaker 1: Thanks.
00:24:10
Speaker 2: OK, let's return to Dawn Fraser's intervention now and to discuss Shadow Home Affairs Minister John O'Donoghue joins me live.
00:24:17
Speaker 1: Jonathan, great to see you. Look, when Dawn Fraser.
00:24:20
Speaker 2: Intervenes, surely the Prime Minister and the Commissioner, Virginia Bell, have to listen.
00:24:27
Speaker 15: Well, of course, Shari, can I say her intervention early on, of course, was something that obviously people, the Prime Minister included, sat up.
00:24:35
Speaker 16: And listened to. And Dawn wasn't just speaking on behalf of herself.
00:24:38
Speaker 15: She was speaking on behalf of the entire Australian community.
00:24:41
Speaker 16: In her comments there, she.
00:24:42
Speaker 15: Referenced 30 high-ranking Australians with some degree of experience and a view with some expertise on matters related to what the Royal Commission's looking at. So, Why you'd ignore what she has to say, this plea to get it right, I don't know. This government, I think, sadly, just hopes this Royal Commission does its work, hands its report in and.
00:25:03
Speaker 16: We can all move on.
00:25:03
Speaker 15: But sadly, that will not do what was promised, which is to look at everything in the full light of day and make sure we do everything we can to prevent this from happening ever again.
00:25:13
Speaker 1: I think she really has a way of synthesising the issue.
00:25:17
Speaker 2: You know, we've been talking about the complexities of it on the show for weeks now, but she just says it's failed the pub test.
00:25:23
Speaker 1: And she's right.
00:25:25
Speaker 11: Spot on.
00:25:25
Speaker 15: I mean, and frankly, she does have a way with words and she does capture the imagination. Dawn Fraser is an Australian icon. And I think the Prime Minister, this government would do well to listen to her because, as I say, she speaks on not just behalf of herself, but I say the Australian community.
00:25:42
Speaker 1: Yeah, agreed.
00:25:43
Speaker 2: All right, back to the housing market. We're reading it's facing the largest crash.
00:25:46
Speaker 1: In 40 years.
00:25:47
Speaker 2: Are you worried that as economists are warning, we could also be facing stagflation or even a recession?
00:25:55
Speaker 15: Well, I think the facts and all of the conditions our country is facing are pointing to that. And the government, and this is the most alarming part, Shari, you know, the government sort of say it's happening around us.
00:26:07
Speaker 16: It's all these economic headwinds, international conditions. Well, hang on. I'm sorry, they're not building enough homes, if we talk about the housing crisis for a moment.
00:26:15
Speaker 15: They're spending like there's no tomorrow, which is driving up inflation and, of course, therefore driving up interest rates. You've got their latest budget, which has driven a stake through the heart of the housing market. That has all of the flow-ons that economists and others have pointed to, people not spending as much, credit card transactions down, people just not taking a risk with their money at all. this is going to have serious and ongoing ramifications for our economy. And the government just say, oh, well, we hope it gets better. I have seen no evidence of a serious attempt to rectify this on any level.
00:26:52
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think it's really stunning, astonishing to look at the fact that, you know, a conflation of government policies have caused this situation, you know, direct correlation and And to think that families have their main asset because the family home for most households is their main asset, that it's declining. It's going to be a shock to the system when people realise what's happening if they don't already. Jono, all eyes are on this year's Pacific Island Forum. Tensions between China and Taiwan, we're reading, could explode. Now, China's special envoy for the Pacific said that Taiwan is not a dialogue partner with the forum. They said, we've got serious concerns. And this Warring statement, they said, there will always be consequences. Now, Albanese stopped short of criticising China.
00:27:40
Speaker 1: Here's what he did say.
00:27:41
Speaker 7: Pacific Islands Forum determines... what happens here, not any other country. This is a well-attended meeting of the Pacific Islands Forum, and I don't think it's productive to talk it down.
00:27:56
Speaker 1: I'm talking it up.
00:27:58
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, he's talking it up, but are you worried or concerned he's downplaying the threats from China when it uses language like there could be consequences for Taiwan?
00:28:08
Speaker 16: Yeah, I mean, what consequences?
00:28:10
Speaker 15: I find this approach to international relations, diplomacy, frankly, staggering in this day and age that somehow everyone goes and cowers in the corner when a diplomatic official uses language like this.
00:28:24
Speaker 16: It's very sad.
00:28:25
Speaker 15: But again, the one thing the Prime Minister said there I do agree with is that the Pacific Island Forum should determine who comes to the Pacific Island Forum, not China, not the US, no one else.
00:28:36
Speaker 16: And so, I say that China should stick to their own.
00:28:40
Speaker 15: Business and do what they need to do rather than telling the rest of the world what we should be doing. And Australia is a leader in this region, in the Pacific region.
00:28:48
Speaker 16: We're a democracy. We want stability. We want peace in this region. And that's what we need to be standing up for. And I would urge the Prime Minister to reflect that in his language when responding to these sorts of matters.
00:29:00
Speaker 2: There are unconfirmed reports that a former Australian Defence Forces soldier has been killed by fighting in Ukraine, I stress unverified. Officials are investigating whether this combat medic, he's known only as Mozzie, died last Friday. Now, Jono, your colleague Phil Thompson has paid tribute, says he's a good man and a great soldier. I mean, what do we actually know about Mozzie and what's happened?
00:29:25
Speaker 15: Well, look, I have no details beyond what has been reported and, of course, Phil's statement. And if it is the case that Mozzie has lost his life, then that is a very, very sad outcome.
00:29:38
Speaker 16: Obviously, this conflict.
00:29:40
Speaker 15: which has consumed so much in the way of human lives, but also other resources, is one that I just hope we see an end to. And it is important that we in the West, we peace loving democratic nations do band together. And the sooner we can bring an end to this conflict and others like it, the more lives like Mozzie's can be saved. As you say, it is unverified, but of course.
00:30:01
Speaker 16: You know, if it is the case that this young man's lost his life, that is a very sad outcome.
00:30:06
Speaker 1: Yeah, it is indeed. All right, Jono, great to have you on the show as always. Thank you.
00:30:11
Speaker 2: Still to come, TV and music star Mark Holden joins us live with a special song and One Nation wants to take on Chris Minns and Kelly Sloan in the state election and its New South Wales leader will join me after this quick break.
00:30:30
Speaker 1: Welcome back.
00:30:30
Speaker 2: Well, One Nation is upping the ante in New South Wales, tapping investment banker Mike Newman to be its new state leader. He's lived in Japan for 25 years and might be an unusual choice for a party which is heavily focused on domestic politics. But Newman has hit the ground running, vowing to abolish the New South Wales Independent Planning Commission and the Net Zero Commission. And I'm pleased to say Mike Newman joins me now. Mike, I understand it's your birthday today.
00:30:59
Speaker 1: Is that right?
00:31:00
Speaker 11: That's right. 55 years young.
00:31:03
Speaker 1: Well, happy birthday.
00:31:04
Speaker 2: But I feel like this might be a tactic to come on my show when it's your birthday.
00:31:09
Speaker 1: So I can't be tough on you.
00:31:10
Speaker 11: You can go for your life. Don't worry.
00:31:13
Speaker 2: Look, your background is investment banking. You were the trade commissioner. In another lifetime, you would have run for the Liberal Party. So why One Nation?
00:31:23
Speaker 17: Pretty simple, Shari. They're the only party that I could see. And I've dealt with both sides of politics, Labor and the coalition. where there was just no factionism. We are just out to do what's best for Australians, and in my case, for the people of New South Wales. So I've said before in other interviews that I'm not really running against either of the other parties. I'm actually running for the people of New South Wales with a completely different agenda, which is all about handing power back to people, getting government out of their lives, reducing red tape, cutting taxes, and allowing private sector to finally thrive Because, you know, I've been saying for a long time that New South Wales has the worst reputation amongst all the states for ease of doing business.
00:32:05
Speaker 2: Well, the state election in New South Wales, it's in March next year, so six months away. Now, Chris Minns is a very popular Premier. I mean, would you say he's done a good job?
00:32:16
Speaker 11: Well, I like Chris Finns.
00:32:18
Speaker 17: I'll say he's a decent chap where he didn't take credit for the Metro.
00:32:21
Speaker 11: I think that's the mark of the man.
00:32:22
Speaker 17: But sadly, I mean, four years ago, I said for him when I was the commissioner that he had to get into international markets to dispel this myth that New South Wales was hard business, or at least a a difficult state to do business in. And it's taken him four years to get to India. He's playing cricket and.
00:32:39
Speaker 1: That's... He's there this week. We should tell you he's there this week, right now.
00:32:44
Speaker 17: And to be honest, I wish him a successful trip because what's good for New South Wales is good for New South Wales. So I don't mean any bad will, but what I'm saying is it took him four years. So four years before our CEO has gone to visit other nations, I think it is a bad indictment. But the thing is, if it was to stay and do domestic issues, we've had failures in healthcare, we've had failures in terms of security, and also we've had failures with respect to energy. I mean, let's face it, energy, the government has mandated that Iran closes in 2029 and the documents that the government uses to sort of ensure that we've got enough energy in the system debunks itself and we will have rolling blackouts from 2029.
00:33:28
Speaker 11: And that will destroy the economy.
00:33:29
Speaker 17: And I want to put an absolute end to that, which is why I want to get rid of the Independent Planning Commission as well.
00:33:36
Speaker 11: As the Net Zero Commission.
00:33:37
Speaker 15: Yeah, yeah.
00:33:38
Speaker 1: I mentioned that you're running on those policies.
00:33:40
Speaker 2: Now, are you planning on having your One Nation candidates running in mainly Labor seats or Coalition seats?
00:33:47
Speaker 17: Every single one. We will run in every single one. Obviously, we've got a lot of work to do, but we're getting candidates. We've got a lot of people applying and we will be vetting them to make sure that we've got the right people in place because we want those people to bleed orange. We don't mind if they have diversity of thought, but we just do not want to have people who are hangers-on or feeling that they want to catch the wave. And they're the people we definitely do not want to have inside the party.
00:34:12
Speaker 2: Have you met with Opposition Leader Kelly Sloan yet about doing a preference deal with her?
00:34:17
Speaker 11: Well, look, I'm four days in.
00:34:19
Speaker 17: And to be honest, I'm happy to talk to anyone who will get rid of this horrible Labor government. As I said, Mr Minns, I have no issues with him, but I do think he has a lot of lightweights with his ministers who are making some dreadful decisions. And, you know, whether it's housing, energy, we're just not seeing the results come through.
00:34:39
Speaker 2: I mean, talking to you now, you couldn't be more different from the last One Nation leader, Mark Latham. It's like chalk and cheese. You know, you're a serious figure. You're running as well as the candidate for Cessnock. You mentioned a moment ago energy policy being a disaster in New South Wales. Now, the largest coal mine in the Hunter Valley... It has been waiting, I understand, something like six years for an extension. It does $ 3 billion of revenue per year. I mean, do you think the government should be having a role in holding this up?
00:35:12
Speaker 11: No. I mean, this is the problem.
00:35:13
Speaker 17: I mean, it just goes to if you want to undermine long-term confidence in investors, you do exactly what the Independent Planning Commission is doing right now. What should be happening with HVO is it should have had its approval six years ago and we would have done it inside of six months. Worse than that, What is happening is the IPC is saying, well, how quickly can you transition workers out so we can close this thing? Because the thing is what people need to understand, and this is where the IPC is totally undermining confidence in all other new potential mining extension applications, is that a 20-year mine, the first five years you likely lose money and you make it all back in the back end of the other 15 years. So to sort of stop it, and expect to go for five years and then transition workers out. What is the upside for any coal company to pursue such a ridiculous strategy? That's why we want to get rid of it. No more ideology. Coal is the backbone of the hunter. We're 100% behind those workers. We want to build new coal capacity, and it is such a huge revenue source as well for the New South Wales government. You can't talk about being pro-coal and then do exactly what they're doing.
00:36:23
Speaker 1: All right.
00:36:24
Speaker 2: I just want to get your thoughts on the comments that the Attorney-General Michelle Rowland made today. She accused One Nation of, you know, having neo-Nazis infiltrate the party. Have you seen any evidence of that? And do you think if there are neo-Nazis who are members, do you think they should be kicked out of One Nation?
00:36:43
Speaker 11: There are no neo-Nazis inside the One Nation party.
00:36:46
Speaker 1: Well, how would you know that, though? You couldn't know that.
00:36:49
Speaker 17: Well, look, in terms of its membership, no, I don't know all, you know, up nearly 100,000 members that we have.
00:36:56
Speaker 11: But the thing is, is that One Nation is dead against Nazism.
00:37:00
Speaker 17: And the fact that Attorney General is even, you know, entertains the prospect that there might be is so hypocritical. I just think that, you know, we had over 50 incidents of anti-Semitism under this Labour, Albanese Labour government.
00:37:13
Speaker 11: They did nothing.
00:37:14
Speaker 17: I remember that he was playing tennis with Jay Weatherall, in Perth and visited Adas, what, three days later.
00:37:20
Speaker 11: He is an absolute joke to the community. And you know what?
00:37:23
Speaker 17: We are seeing one of the faster-growing segments of our member base are actually from the Jewish community, and we welcome them because I think they understand that we will be super tough. The police are now doing pronoun training. Under our government, if we are lucky enough to be elected, that's going to go completely, and we will crack down very hard on anyone that looks to persecute anyone within our society, and.
00:37:45
Speaker 11: The police will be given full powers.
00:37:47
Speaker 17: to investigate, they'll be given all the tools and resourcing and legal backing to do so.
00:37:51
Speaker 3: All right.
00:37:52
Speaker 2: Mike Newman, great to have you on the program. Happy 55th birthday.
00:37:56
Speaker 1: We'll see you again.
00:37:57
Speaker 11: Thanks, Shari. Goodbye. Thanks.
00:37:59
Speaker 2: Haven't heard that before, police doing pronoun training. We'll have to get more information on that. All right, still to come, how bad will the housing market get? Michael Stutchbury will be here live. Plus, remember this hit. Yeah, TV star Mark Holden will be with me right after the break.
00:38:31
Speaker 1: Welcome back.
00:38:32
Speaker 2: Well, after years away from the spotlight, Countdown star Mark Holden is making a comeback. The former teen heartthrob and Australian Idol star is finding his new voice with his latest album after battling thyroid cancer. And I'm very pleased to say he joins me now live from Melbourne. Mark, welcome and what an incredible journey. So what's prompted you to return to showbiz?
00:38:59
Speaker 4: Well, 13 years as a barrister at the Vic Bar was more than enough, quite honestly.
00:39:05
Speaker 11: I loved it. It was a great privilege.
00:39:06
Speaker 4: But I started to lose my temper with some of the judges and that's never a good thing for a barrister to do.
00:39:12
Speaker 2: I'm sure we can understand, given you're dealing with Victorian judges, we can definitely understand that.
00:39:18
Speaker 1: Yes, indeed.
00:39:19
Speaker 4: Indeed, a couple of times I had to have a quiet word to them and reset their perception of reality. But anyway, and so I wanted to turn my mind back to music and I was cleaning out my office and rejigging my office last year and I found an old CD of a tribute to Tex Morton I did with my Holden Brothers Circus family members. I found a record I did just before the cancer where I was in my 40s, just around the idle time where I was really singing well that had never come out. And my 70s records, my 70s hits were never up on streaming. So I got them and put them up on streaming. And then an album that I made with Gunditjmara elder Richard J. Franklin called Discovering Leopold Mara, put.
00:40:07
Speaker 11: That one out.
00:40:08
Speaker 4: And then last year, my daughter got married in Los Angeles. And on the way to Los Angeles, I I met a man in Hawaii who told me the story of knowing Shirley MacLaine and that Shirley MacLaine got to know him and said that the reason he suffers the blues is because he's a descendant of Genghis Khan and he's still paying the old man's dues. And as he said that, the song appeared in my head.
00:40:33
Speaker 10: Wow.
00:40:33
Speaker 4: And when I was in Los Angeles for my daughter's wedding, which was a very, very happy time, I met with my old mates who are songwriters with me in Los Angeles and they're They're all sort of in their 70s and got heart problems and miserable. And I said, let's write a song together. And I showed my mate who did Shakespeare's Sister and Mila Jovovich recorded me a number of great records. And we wrote Shirley MacLaine and then it was the start of kind of an outflow of songwriting over the last 18 months that ended up in this album.
00:41:08
Speaker 14: Incredible.
00:41:09
Speaker 2: Now, what caught my attention, and if there's any viewers out there who have good eyesight, they might notice that you're wearing a little Matilda B badge on your jacket.
00:41:18
Speaker 11: Yes.
00:41:19
Speaker 2: So in your album you've got this beautiful tribute to young Matilda B who was killed at Bondi.
00:41:25
Speaker 1: Here's a clip of it. Let's have a listen.
00:41:28
Speaker 16: MUSIC PLAYS.
00:41:32
Speaker 18: Take the keys from the jailer And the old men in the wheelchairs And oh Matilda the innocent Was shot as she was dancing Now she follows wherever we may go.
00:41:57
Speaker 4: Sing Matilda.
00:42:00
Speaker 19: Oh, sing Matilda Oh, come, oh, sing Matilda.
00:42:11
Speaker 1: It's just so emotional. It's so beautiful, Mark. What made you record this?
00:42:15
Speaker 11: Thank you, Sherry.
00:42:17
Speaker 4: Well, like millions of other Australians, I was moved to tears and it just... I found myself listening to Tom Waits, who I love, And I found myself listening to that song and then I found myself getting into the lyrics and I became Tom Trobert on Bondi Beach and was a witness to the atrocity. And I just, I changed the words a tiny bit. I hope Tom will forgive me, but my young production manager, Tyler Sunshine, has connections to the Britvan family and And I couldn't do it without their permission. So we reached out to Michael and Michael was very beautiful and gave us permission. And so it's a way to honour her memory and keep her spirit alive. And it's, I mean, on the weekend, my neighbours came over and bought me a year of Jewish cooking book. Oh, yes. And handed me the book with tears in her eyes and thanked me for the song. And it's a prayer song is what it is.
00:43:35
Speaker 15: It is.
00:43:35
Speaker 1: It's so beautiful.
00:43:36
Speaker 2: I was playing it in the dressing room just before when I was getting ready and someone said that it also sounded like your voice had changed.
00:43:43
Speaker 1: Is that the thyroid cancer? Has it changed the way you sing as well?
00:43:48
Speaker 11: Yes.
00:43:49
Speaker 4: I got thyroid cancer just as I was just about to sign the bar roll. And being a junior barrister at 55, I had my neck was.
00:44:01
Speaker 11: All puffed out but I could speak.
00:44:04
Speaker 4: Yeah. And so I used my voice in that way and then gradually over the last 15 years by joining sort of a, well, I started a bar choir firstly and stood down with the terrible barristers, men, you know, bass baritones and making noise. And then I'm a member of a Melbourne club called the Savage Club here in Melbourne and a bunch of us old men meet once a month for two hours with a martini and sing and make music together.
00:44:34
Speaker 1: Sounds so incredible.
00:44:37
Speaker 4: And so over the last 15 years I figured out a new way to sing and I wrote the new songs and the album with a new voice.
00:44:44
Speaker 2: It's certainly working for you. Thank you for everything you do. We're all going to go look up your music. Thanks for being with us, Mark.
00:44:51
Speaker 16: Thanks, Sherry.
00:44:51
Speaker 1: All right.
00:44:53
Speaker 2: After the break, how badly will the housing market fall? Michael Stutchbury will join me. Well, Australia is facing its worst housing crash in 40 years, as we've been discussing, as the government's tax changes send values into freefall. And with me now is the Centre for Independent Studies Executive Director, Michael Stutchbury.
00:45:15
Speaker 1: Stutch, good to see you again.
00:45:17
Speaker 20: Good to be here, Shari.
00:45:18
Speaker 1: You didn't tell me I was going to have to follow Mark Holden. I won't make you sing, don't worry, unless you want to.
00:45:23
Speaker 5: No, no, no.
00:45:24
Speaker 1: I mean, tell us, how bad is this going to get?
00:45:27
Speaker 20: Well, I think we are seeing a significant house price correction. You know, house prices in Australia, as everybody said, have been pumped up a lot. There's been restrictions on the supply of housing because of government zoning and planning laws that's pushed up the price of houses over the last 10, 20 years. And now we're seeing the combination, I think, of three Reserve Bank interest rates, which weren't expected a year ago. And, of course, the federal government's tax crackdown on capital gains tax, particularly on investors and negative gearing in the May budget together. That's a bit of a whammy. And it's hit particularly Sydney and Melbourne house prices. They're down about 5%, I think, on the numbers. And you're getting these forecasts that overall national house prices could fall about 10%.
00:46:11
Speaker 1: I mean, it's huge.
00:46:12
Speaker 2: I think confidence, we're being told, is playing a huge factor as well. People are nervous about the tax changes, even if they haven't taken effect yet. So really, people are worried about any movement.
00:46:24
Speaker 20: Yeah, I think if your housing is a long-term investment, as Jim Chalmers would say, if you hold onto it for a while, you can ride through these sort of things. If you've got to sell up your house, though, you don't want falling house prices. People want to get into the housing market, of course. It's a good thing from there. But it can shake a bit of confidence and it has a so-called wealth effect because housing is the biggest asset in the economy. If the price falls, people feel a little less wealthy and that can affect spending in the economy and slow it down.
00:46:56
Speaker 1: I had a.
00:46:58
Speaker 2: an auctioneer, Tom Pannis, on the show last week. And he said to me that, you know, because the valuations for the capital gains tax are taken on the 1st of July, 2027, we're seeing this massive fall in house prices. That's when the valuations will be taken around then. Over time, when the property market invariably goes up, that's just more tax revenue for the government.
00:47:19
Speaker 20: Yeah, it goes to the whole debate about whether, you know, you should toughen up the treatment of capital gains or not. I think probably overall, it's a hit to the economy. And particularly when you go outside housing as well and you're taxing, in effect, small business and businesses and investments and entrepreneurs, that's a hit to the economy overall.
00:47:42
Speaker 2: Now, moving away from the housing market, I mean, this has been a softening in the economy.
00:47:47
Speaker 1: We're hearing that from retailers.
00:47:48
Speaker 2: We're Then there's also we're seeing these forecasts from economists who are saying that we're going to have zero growth in the next quarter.
00:47:59
Speaker 1: Do you think this could be a recession?
00:48:01
Speaker 20: Well, tomorrow is an exciting day because it's the June quarter gross domestic product, national accounts, and we'll be talking about that. There have been some economists talking about very low growth, perhaps zero growth in the quarter, in the June quarter. The latest ones I've seen have had not quite going to zero and not quite going to negative, but you will see, I think, a slowdown, quite a significant slowdown in annual growth in the economy. The latest reading of the latest 12 months before was about 2.5%. And it's got a fall to below 2%. The thing is, the Reserve Bank's trying to make it fall below 2%, to slow down growth, because they're trying to get inflation down. The economy's been operating beyond capacity. I think we might have spoken about that last time I was on. And it's still happening. And so they're trying to deliberately slow the economy down. And the question is, is even with the economy slowing down, the latest inflation numbers have been on the high side. Inflation pretty stubborn at 3.5%. They've got to get it to 2 to 3. You could well see another Reserve Bank increase in late September or in early November.
00:49:05
Speaker 1: Yeah, so you think at least one rate rise this year?
00:49:08
Speaker 20: I think going by the hawkishness of the Reserve Bank Governor Michelle Bullock and the fact that housing, that inflation has been bubbling up, rents are going up as well as part of all of this, because it's been a hit to rental investment. So rents are going up and that feeds into the CPI. I think that will probably offset signs of softness in the economy because that's what the RBA is trying to achieve. I'd be surprised if they didn't do another rate increase before Christmas because they've been through this last time.
00:49:38
Speaker 5: They lowered rates.
00:49:39
Speaker 20: a year ago and inflation bubbled up, they can't afford that to happen again.
00:49:43
Speaker 6: Yeah.
00:49:43
Speaker 2: And now we're seeing signs that the US might have to raise rates. I mean, really, it's just been Australia on this rate rise inflation journey.
00:49:51
Speaker 1: But now tell us what's happening in America.
00:49:53
Speaker 20: Yeah, Australia has stood out for being the one that's because inflation's bubbled up. And as you say, the RBA Reserve Banks have to lift rates. Now you see Kevin Walsh. This is Donald Trump's handpicked Federal Reserve Chairman for the one he put in there to lower interest rates. And just over the weekend at this so-called Jackson Hole conference of the central bank in the US, the Fed, Walsh has come out with what's known as quite a hawkish line of words, a speech, which said inflation's been bubbling up. It's our job to get inflation down to. Theirs is even a tougher target, 2%, not 2% to 3%.
00:50:28
Speaker 1: Where's their inflation rate at the moment?
00:50:30
Speaker 20: Theirs is up around about where ours is as well, around about that 3% to 4% thing, and they need to get it down to two. It's been above two for quite a while. Their interest rates are lower than ours. They're in the threes, not in the fours. So you could well see the US Fed lift interest rates and that puts pressure on the RBA to follow as well.
00:50:52
Speaker 1: Yeah, well, it also puts pressure on the President. I mean, it could.
00:50:56
Speaker 2: Worst time for him politically. He doesn't want rates to rise, that's for sure.
00:50:59
Speaker 20: Yeah, well, he called the previous central bank governor all sorts of names for doing it, and now he might get that, as you say, at a very inopportune time, coming into the congressional midterm elections.
00:51:10
Speaker 1: Yeah, no, exactly. All right, Michael Stachry, great to have you on the show as always. Thanks so much.
00:51:13
Speaker 11: Thanks, Shari.
00:51:15
Speaker 2: And thanks, everyone, for your company this evening. We'll have another big show tomorrow night, so don't miss it. But right now, in the Man Cave, Paul Murray.
Speaker 1: Thanks, James. Yes, a massive show tonight.
00:00:09
Speaker 2: Aussie legend Dawn Fraser tells me the Royal Commission has failed the pub test.
00:00:14
Speaker 1: She's demanding action.
00:00:16
Speaker 2: Also on the show, the housing market is facing the largest crash in 40 years.
00:00:21
Speaker 1: And today, Ray Hadley.
00:00:22
Speaker 2: Has given evidence against Alan Jones in an explosive day in court.
00:00:27
Speaker 1: We've got the details.
00:00:28
Speaker 2: Plus, TV star Mark Holden blasts from the past. He joins us live with a special new song. And we'll get the latest in Nepal on the missing Australians and what they were doing in their final moments before the floods hit. Packed show, powerhouse guests, Nick Coatsworth, Cameron Milner, Jonathan Dunyan.
00:00:48
Speaker 1: Michael Stutchbury, Mark Holden. Let's get into it.
00:00:52
Speaker 2: Well, Australian sporting legend Dawn Fraser has declared the Royal Commission has failed the pub test. She's urging Commissioner Virginia Bell to call... Albanese government ministers and Islamist organisations to the stand. This is a damning intervention from the former swimmer, whose press conference at the Bondi Memorial site first prompted Albanese to call the Royal Commission and backflip on his opposition. In exclusive comments, Dawn Fraser tells me, it's not too late for the Royal Commission to do the right thing.
00:01:27
Speaker 1: I hope it does.
00:01:29
Speaker 2: She says the Royal Commission has allowed cross-examination of Jewish witnesses sharing their stories, but it hasn't called ministers to give evidence, hasn't called members of Islamist organisations active in the anti-Israel protests and hasn't investigated the sources, origins and growth of Islamist extremism, which pose national security challenges for Australia. Dawn Fraser says this fails both the pub test and and the test of those with the proper qualifications. Now, you'll remember that very powerful moment earlier this year in January when Dawn Fraser walked down to the memorial site at Bondi and she expressed the anger and hurt that so many Australians right around the country were feeling.
00:02:21
Speaker 3: And to you, Anthony Albanese, Tony Burke, Penny Wong, come down off your high horse and stop trying to run for cover. If the Jewish community is calling for a royal commissioner, then do the right thing by this community. And that has suffered enough.
00:02:40
Speaker 2: It was those comments, it was that press conference that meant Anthony Albanese changed his mind.
00:02:46
Speaker 1: He'd been withholding.
00:02:49
Speaker 2: He'd been refusing to call a royal commission for four weeks. But now Dawn Fraser says she's been let down. Here's what she told me. She says it was my hope and expectation that the Royal Commission would fearlessly investigate the unprecedented harassment, intimidation and violence that had been directed at the Australian Jewish community since October.
00:03:12
Speaker 4: 7, 2023.
00:03:13
Speaker 2: What followed is not at all what I or many of the others involved at the time envisaged. Now, she adds to the growing chorus of prominent leaders, politicians, national security figures and legal experts who are urging the Royal Commission to be extended and for it to actually use its inquisitorial powers to thoroughly examine the drivers of hate. You think back to past Royal Commissions, like the Police Wood Royal Commission in the 90s, which unearthed serious corruption, which made a difference. And it makes this one look like a missed opportunity. Can I just say how good is Dawn Fraser? She remains a legend to this day. I'm so grateful to her voice.
00:04:03
Speaker 1: For speaking out.
00:04:04
Speaker 2: And I'm going to come back to that topic a bit later with John O'Donoghue, the Shadow Home Affairs Minister. But let's turn now to the housing market because it's facing the largest crash in 40 years. And this is shaping up to be Anthony Albanese's unwanted legacy. Interest rate rises, a housing market crash, the most persistent period of high inflation in modern Australian history. And added to that, as we've been speaking about, Australia's deadliest.
00:04:33
Speaker 1: Ever terror attack.
00:04:35
Speaker 2: Well, today, leading economists are warning that Australia could even be heading towards stagflation or recession. Forecasters at Goldman Sachs and HSBC are now predicting zero growth this quarter. And property analytics firm Totality has recorded a 4.7% drop in dwelling prices in Sydney. If the trend continues, this would amount to an 18% annual crash. Now, the Fin Review puts a dollar figure on this, reporting that the average value of a Sydney home has slumped by $ 100, 000 this.
00:05:12
Speaker 1: Just since February.
00:05:14
Speaker 2: And they say there's warnings that a nationwide property downturn has become entrenched. And new data shows that pessimism is seeping into other parts of the economy, with a slowdown in credit card spending and falling traffic at major retailers such as Harvey Norman and JB Hi-Fi. Esteemed property analyst Louis Christopher spoke about this a little earlier on Business Now.
00:05:41
Speaker 5: The change came when we had the first interest rate rise. Then the market was absolutely hammered by the property taxation changes, creating a lot of uncertainty in terms of where people stood on capital gains.
00:05:55
Speaker 2: Now, what makes this just so infuriating is that this housing market crunch and the slowing economy has been deliberately caused, deliberately created by the Albanese government. Labor has long dreamt of winding back what it saw as unfair tax concessions on negative gearing and capital gains. But this has only led to landlords and property investors having to put up rents to cover the lower returns. So this is just pushing up the rental market for the people the government claimed it wanted to help. And it's a point New South Wales opposition leader Kelly Sloan referred to today.
00:06:36
Speaker 6: Now, if that was helping someone else, then you can see the balance. But first home buyers are suffering as well because there's a market squeeze.
00:06:45
Speaker 1: Rents are going up. So if they're trying to.
00:06:47
Speaker 6: Save for a mortgage, there's been the biggest spike in rents in Sydney in recent times. And we're seeing a pessimism flow into the market. And this is because of Labor's bad budget, because of successive interest rate hikes and because of a downturn in our economy on their watch.
00:07:03
Speaker 2: And the Albanese government has also chosen not to tackle inflation by continuing government spending at record levels. Spending has never been higher. Neither has government debt. And it's Australians who are paying the price for this high inflation with rate rises. Remember when the Prime Minister, well, he was the opposition leader then, when Albanese blamed a single interest rate rise on the then Prime Minister, Scott Morrison.
00:07:34
Speaker 7: What we know is that under Scott Morrison, cost of living is in crisis. We know that the price of everything is going up, but people's wages aren't. And today, potentially, we face the triple whammy. Lower wages, rising inflation and rising interest rates. Scott Morrison, of course, is happy to always take credit for anything that goes right. But he always says, it's not my job. It's someone else's fault. It's nothing to do with me when things aren't going so well.
00:08:09
Speaker 1: It's amazing.
00:08:10
Speaker 2: He could be speaking about himself. There had been just one rate rise under Scott Morrison. There have now been 15 on Albanese's watch. Yet he hasn't accepted responsibility or even come close to apologising. And no acknowledgement of what those rises have done to mortgages or household budgets. And now the value of people's homes, their greatest asset, is falling as well.
00:08:40
Speaker 1: Now, for families, this isn't political or ideological.
00:08:45
Speaker 2: It's their savings, their retirement, their future, their children's inheritance, their financial security. This is real money for families across Australia. And ultimately, the Albanese government is messing with the great Australian dream of owning a home. And knowing that years of hard work will leave you better off. Because now the value of your home, your dream, your nest egg is going backwards. And this is the Prime Minister's legacy.
00:09:16
Speaker 1: And he won't be forgiven for it.
00:09:23
Speaker 2: Well, they've been the two biggest names in radio, Alan Jones and Ray Hadley. Their history dates back 35 years. They were rivals and they ruled the air, grilling politicians every morning. And now their relationship is under the spotlight, warts and all, in court. The evidence relates to allegations made by complainant C. He was first employed to work at 2GB and then became Alan Jones's driver. Hadley gave evidence today and he said that in 2019, C told him in a private conversation that Jones had sexually assaulted him on different occasions, including in lift wells. Ray Hadley said in court at various times he broke down and sobbed. I just stopped, let him compose himself, offered my support and let him continue. Hadley said he felt sorry for him and spoke about another alleged incident at lunch where C claimed Jones had touched him under the table. Hadley told the court today he was embarrassed by it and I felt helpless. Hadley said he offered to accompany C to a police station but that he refused to go, saying that Jones was too powerful. Now, Hadley also revealed that he rang a Sydney Morning Herald columnist, Peter Fitzsimons, and told him, about C's allegations. And here's more from Our News 24 reporter Carolyn Marcus, who was at the court today.
00:10:57
Speaker 8: An accuser who can only be known as Complainant C had earlier told the court that it was Mr Hadley who put him in touch with columnist Peter Fitzsimons. after he disclosed Mr. Jones' alleged offending. That led to the accuser next speaking to a journalist, Kate McClymont, who broke the story. Mr. Jones' lawyers are seeking to show the bitter rivalry between Mr.
00:11:24
Speaker 1: Hadley and Mr.
00:11:25
Speaker 8: Jones was the motive behind complainancy's disclosure.
00:11:33
Speaker 2: So as you heard, the court was also told that tensions were rife between Hadley and Jones, with former senior producer for Jones, James Willis, saying that Hadley had signed a secret deal to take over the coveted breakfast slot from Jones. He said, while this was meant to be a secret, it had spread through the corridors enough that our team, including Jones, had been aware of it. In the end, Hadley was only questioned for just over an hour before the judge cut his evidence short over a legal issue. He was eventually excused and he will take the stand again at 10am tomorrow.
00:12:08
Speaker 1: Alan Jones denies all allegations.
00:12:15
Speaker 2: Now, I'm going to return to the housing crunch. It is the biggest story at the moment. I'm going to return to it later with Michael Stutchbury, the former editor-in-chief of The Fin Review. But now let's get the latest on Nepal, where the death toll has tragically passed 1,000 people. And joining me now live from Taipei is News24 Asia correspondent Stas Butler.
00:12:35
Speaker 1: Great to see you again.
00:12:36
Speaker 2: Now, tell us about this Australian, Michael Keats, because we heard from his partner Stas, that he had, that she believed he had been killed in these landslides in Nepal. But the Foreign Minister, Penny Wong, is saying that this isn't confirmed. And in fact, let's bring those comments from Penny right now.
00:12:56
Speaker 9: My thoughts are with Mr Keats' family and with all the families and friends of the 43 Australians who are currently unaccounted for and whose welfare we are urgently seeking to confirm. We've not received official confirmation. We respect the family's rights to make a public statement.
00:13:18
Speaker 1: Yeah, so what do we know? Is Michael alive or not?
00:13:23
Speaker 10: Well, I mean, I think the foreign minister there clarifying that essentially what we're seeing is that the Australian government hasn't received any formal identification of any victims. Often, you know, in this case, the Nepalese authorities, the Nepali authorities have pulled, you know, several hundred bodies over 900. Now, as you said, the death toll combined across China and Nepal has passed a thousand. Many of those bodies, by my understanding, have not been identified. So there is a formal identification process that obviously needs to, you know.
00:13:57
Speaker 11: go through.
00:13:57
Speaker 10: And I think that the process here is that, as the foreign minister has made clear, there hasn't been formal identification. The government's position is that they're not going to announce the death formally until they have that confirmation from the Nepali authorities. But they respect the wishes of families to announce that death if they so wish.
00:14:18
Speaker 2: And Stash, there is some better news, though. A second Australian, we're being told, has been found alive.
00:14:25
Speaker 11: That's right.
00:14:26
Speaker 10: So we have the number of missing Australians ticking down from 43 to 42. It ticked down earlier when Cara Severino, a hiker, made contact with authorities. That's really the hopeful scenario here for many of those missing Australians, is that given the disruption to infrastructure, the damage to obviously cell phone towers, but also roads, train lines, all other kinds of things that that simply contact may have been lost in many cases that many of these missing Australians can hopefully get back in touch. But of course, the wait still goes on for so many families, Australian and Nepali as well. I've spoken to two Nepali tour operators, one who's still got two guides missing, still has no news on their situation, although a team has been sent out to find them. Another who's missing, an uncle and uncle's family, Still waiting for news of them, too. They were on a pilgrimage to a sacred lake high up in the mountains before contact was lost. He says to me, admitting that he has very little hope that they'll still be found alive. Of course, there's a lot to be done. Rescues ongoing of personnel trapped in hydropower plants and also the grim task, as I said, of identifying the dead. One of the main things that's being sent in terms of aid coming from other countries, including China, among others, is DNA kits to do just that thing and notify the next of kin when their loved ones are found.
00:15:52
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's just so sad. Stash Butler, thank you so much for the update.
00:15:58
Speaker 2: OK, let's turn now to the row between the Albanese government and One Nation. Now, Attorney-General Michelle Rowland has again linked Pauline Hanson's party to neo-Nazis.
00:16:09
Speaker 1: Have a look.
00:16:10
Speaker 12: I would suggest that Senator Hanson should examine what her party and what her ideology and her behaviour is doing and whether or not that is encouraging that. When you admit that you have a party that has been infiltrated by extremists and neo-Nazis, This is exactly the kind of dangers to which politicians are being put in this country.
00:16:34
Speaker 2: Now, I've been told that it is true that neo-Nazis have been joining One Nation. But furious, Pauline Hanson snapped back. She said millions of Australians support One Nation. They're not extremists. They're not dangerous. And ministers should not use language that encourages others to treat them as if they are. And to discuss former Labor State Secretary Cameron Milner and former Deputy Chief Medical.
00:16:58
Speaker 1: Officer Dr Nick Coatsworth, join me now. Great to see you both.
00:17:02
Speaker 2: Now, Michelle Rowland also claimed that it's Pauline's own language leading to the threats against her.
00:17:08
Speaker 1: Let's have a look at that comment.
00:17:10
Speaker 12: I don't wish ill on Ms Hanson in a physical way.
00:17:13
Speaker 1: I don't wish any politician any ill will.
00:17:15
Speaker 12: Irrespective of their political persuasion. But I think sometimes when comments like this are made, one needs to look at oneself and one's behaviour and the kinds of standards that they accept into their own party and their own ideology.
00:17:31
Speaker 2: I mean, Cameron, I think these are extraordinary comments. I mean, Pauline is receiving death threats every and Labor is blaming her for it?
00:17:43
Speaker 13: Well, isn't the hypocrisy rife? But, I mean, Labor's running scared after Secret Harbour. I mean, Labor told everyone that One Nation was a right-of-centre problem for the Liberal Party, for the National Party.
00:17:54
Speaker 11: It's not.
00:17:55
Speaker 13: It's a problem for all political parties where weak leadership leads to voters actually wanting change, and Pauline Hanson represents that change right now. And to the comments about, you know, kind of dangerous extremism, et cetera, et cetera, this is Labor just throwing political confetti any which way rather than admitting the elephant in the room, the contributing factor to why Labor's losing Secret Harbour, you know, losing votes in Victoria is Albanese and his weakness as a federal prime minister and his inability to lead this nation on issues like Bondi and others. And that's what's lit the fire under the voters out there and Pauline Hanson's leading that.
00:18:29
Speaker 1: You're 100% right. Nick, what do you think?
00:18:32
Speaker 2: Should Labor ministers be more careful with their language? I mean, what if, God forbid, if something serious does happen?
00:18:40
Speaker 14: Well, Sherry, I think on some level everybody's got to be more careful with their language. And, look, we have a lot to preserve in Australia in terms of rational political discourse. I can tell you, despite being one of the most recognised figures of the COVID pandemic and despite the polarisation that has caused within Australia's community, I've only been stopped three times in the street with negative comments levelled at me, one who was supporting restrictions, one who wasn't, and one person who was disturbed. And I think that's an example of what we need to preserve in the country. I think Michelle Rowland levelling those accusations at Pauline Hanson, well, I couldn't agree more with Cameron there. I think A lot of what Pauline says is about the cut and thrust of politics. And to be honest, if Labor continues down this path, then I think more than one person today has reminded us of Hillary Clinton's basket of deplorables comments with why she lost her the first election to Trump. That is the direction that this will go.
00:19:35
Speaker 12: So.
00:19:36
Speaker 14: If that's their tactics, there'll be a lot of conservative voters out there who are very happy with it. And it does appear that Albanese is, you know, he's long said his battles with conservatives, one assumed it was conservative politicians, but his battle might actually be with conservative voters in Australia and that will probably lose him an election.
00:19:55
Speaker 10: I mean, the.
00:19:55
Speaker 2: Interesting thing, though, is that it's not only Conservatives supporting One Nation. You know, there are Labor voters turning to One Nation too, as, of course, we saw with Secret Harbour. And so, Cameron, do you think, given this is the One Nation support base, do you think Labor, particularly the Prime Minister, but his senior ministers too, are mishandling the rise of Pauline? And, you know, Albanese's insulting voters, really, when he insults her.
00:20:22
Speaker 11: Oh, absolutely.
00:20:23
Speaker 13: Labor, to Nick's point before, is handling this terribly. It's handling this terribly. But it's such an inside the beltway Canberra type reaction. Rather than actually meeting voters, actually understanding the hurt they're going through, this Labor government's been running scared, running scared from the cost of living crisis, running scared from the inflation crisis that this country's under because of the government decisions. And that's the problem for Labor. Labor can't own up and can't tell the truth and be honest with voters out there because it would actually admit fault. And that's the real problem. I mean, Pauline Hanson's point is, you know, if Albo was just a better Prime Minister, if he could actually admit fault today, then maybe the country would be a better place as well.
00:20:59
Speaker 2: Yeah, there couldn't be a greater contrast with Chris Minns. He's constantly admitting that he could do better and voters appreciate that.
00:21:07
Speaker 1: It's authentic.
00:21:08
Speaker 2: Whereas Albanese can't ever admit he was wrong, never, not even when it's blindingly.
00:21:14
Speaker 1: Obvious to the rest of us.
00:21:16
Speaker 2: All right, let's turn to the tobacco excise because starting today, a single cigarette will now cost a record $ 1.
00:21:22
Speaker 11: 55.
00:21:22
Speaker 2: It takes a packet to between $ 40 and $ 60.
00:21:24
Speaker 11: Now.
00:21:28
Speaker 2: Nick, the government's under pressure over this, not so much from a health perspective, although I am interested to hear your perspective on whether there is any health benefit to having these high taxes, but more because it's led to this spate of firebombings and criminal activity.
00:21:43
Speaker 11: Nick?
00:21:44
Speaker 14: Well, Sherry, they're under fire from a health perspective, an economic perspective and a law enforcement perspective. Let me tell you that the last person who quit smoking because of high tobacco prices, high legal cigarette prices, probably did it about five years ago. And the incremental benefit of increasing the excise now is just to put more price differential between the legal and the illicit product and drive the problems with law enforcement, decrease the amount of revenue and increase the accessibility of illicit tobacco on our streets that our kids and smokers are accessing. I mean, tobacco has never been cheaper in Australia, and that is the fault of consecutive coalition and Labor governments, but it happens to be Labor in at the moment. It just shows you how incredibly inert we are as a government or a political class when we continue on September 1st to increase the price of a cigarette when we know that that the policy is not working. And I would really, I've said this publicly at the Press Club, I would really like to see that excess come down to 2019 levels or even less. We have to decrease that differential between the price of illegal and illicit tobacco to get control back over this market.
00:23:01
Speaker 2: It's kind of amazing, isn't it, Cameron, to see a government policy cause a whole new crime wave?
00:23:10
Speaker 13: Oh, absolutely. And I think, Nick, I'd go even stronger. I mean, I think this is an abject failure of public policy.
00:23:15
Speaker 11: Abject failure.
00:23:16
Speaker 13: I mean, we have a situation where 80% of smokes out there are bought from the black market, bought from organised crime. I mean, the tax revenues are falling because they're failing. I mean, so there's not even a health warning on the packets that are brought in by Manchester, made in Dubai, sold by some Lebanese crime gang on the streets out there. I mean, this is terrible what's happening in Australia.
00:23:34
Speaker 8: Terrible.
00:23:34
Speaker 13: And not only that, to your point, Shari, you know, you've got, you know, evidence now from our security services that the Iranian army contacted some of these fire bombers to go and bomb a Jewish synagogue, allegedly. I mean, this is the level of criminal activity funded by an abject failure in public policy that's not raising the tax revenue, is putting health at risk and lives at risk because of the amount of organised crime and violent organised crime that's now occurring.
00:23:58
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, absolutely right. Great to have you both.
00:24:01
Speaker 2: And, Nick, I think it's the first time I've had you on the show since the COVID pandemic, so I hope you'll come back again.
00:24:06
Speaker 1: That's correct, Sherry. Great to see you both.
00:24:07
Speaker 9: Nice to be back.
00:24:08
Speaker 1: Thanks.
00:24:10
Speaker 2: OK, let's return to Dawn Fraser's intervention now and to discuss Shadow Home Affairs Minister John O'Donoghue joins me live.
00:24:17
Speaker 1: Jonathan, great to see you. Look, when Dawn Fraser.
00:24:20
Speaker 2: Intervenes, surely the Prime Minister and the Commissioner, Virginia Bell, have to listen.
00:24:27
Speaker 15: Well, of course, Shari, can I say her intervention early on, of course, was something that obviously people, the Prime Minister included, sat up.
00:24:35
Speaker 16: And listened to. And Dawn wasn't just speaking on behalf of herself.
00:24:38
Speaker 15: She was speaking on behalf of the entire Australian community.
00:24:41
Speaker 16: In her comments there, she.
00:24:42
Speaker 15: Referenced 30 high-ranking Australians with some degree of experience and a view with some expertise on matters related to what the Royal Commission's looking at. So, Why you'd ignore what she has to say, this plea to get it right, I don't know. This government, I think, sadly, just hopes this Royal Commission does its work, hands its report in and.
00:25:03
Speaker 16: We can all move on.
00:25:03
Speaker 15: But sadly, that will not do what was promised, which is to look at everything in the full light of day and make sure we do everything we can to prevent this from happening ever again.
00:25:13
Speaker 1: I think she really has a way of synthesising the issue.
00:25:17
Speaker 2: You know, we've been talking about the complexities of it on the show for weeks now, but she just says it's failed the pub test.
00:25:23
Speaker 1: And she's right.
00:25:25
Speaker 11: Spot on.
00:25:25
Speaker 15: I mean, and frankly, she does have a way with words and she does capture the imagination. Dawn Fraser is an Australian icon. And I think the Prime Minister, this government would do well to listen to her because, as I say, she speaks on not just behalf of herself, but I say the Australian community.
00:25:42
Speaker 1: Yeah, agreed.
00:25:43
Speaker 2: All right, back to the housing market. We're reading it's facing the largest crash.
00:25:46
Speaker 1: In 40 years.
00:25:47
Speaker 2: Are you worried that as economists are warning, we could also be facing stagflation or even a recession?
00:25:55
Speaker 15: Well, I think the facts and all of the conditions our country is facing are pointing to that. And the government, and this is the most alarming part, Shari, you know, the government sort of say it's happening around us.
00:26:07
Speaker 16: It's all these economic headwinds, international conditions. Well, hang on. I'm sorry, they're not building enough homes, if we talk about the housing crisis for a moment.
00:26:15
Speaker 15: They're spending like there's no tomorrow, which is driving up inflation and, of course, therefore driving up interest rates. You've got their latest budget, which has driven a stake through the heart of the housing market. That has all of the flow-ons that economists and others have pointed to, people not spending as much, credit card transactions down, people just not taking a risk with their money at all. this is going to have serious and ongoing ramifications for our economy. And the government just say, oh, well, we hope it gets better. I have seen no evidence of a serious attempt to rectify this on any level.
00:26:52
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think it's really stunning, astonishing to look at the fact that, you know, a conflation of government policies have caused this situation, you know, direct correlation and And to think that families have their main asset because the family home for most households is their main asset, that it's declining. It's going to be a shock to the system when people realise what's happening if they don't already. Jono, all eyes are on this year's Pacific Island Forum. Tensions between China and Taiwan, we're reading, could explode. Now, China's special envoy for the Pacific said that Taiwan is not a dialogue partner with the forum. They said, we've got serious concerns. And this Warring statement, they said, there will always be consequences. Now, Albanese stopped short of criticising China.
00:27:40
Speaker 1: Here's what he did say.
00:27:41
Speaker 7: Pacific Islands Forum determines... what happens here, not any other country. This is a well-attended meeting of the Pacific Islands Forum, and I don't think it's productive to talk it down.
00:27:56
Speaker 1: I'm talking it up.
00:27:58
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, he's talking it up, but are you worried or concerned he's downplaying the threats from China when it uses language like there could be consequences for Taiwan?
00:28:08
Speaker 16: Yeah, I mean, what consequences?
00:28:10
Speaker 15: I find this approach to international relations, diplomacy, frankly, staggering in this day and age that somehow everyone goes and cowers in the corner when a diplomatic official uses language like this.
00:28:24
Speaker 16: It's very sad.
00:28:25
Speaker 15: But again, the one thing the Prime Minister said there I do agree with is that the Pacific Island Forum should determine who comes to the Pacific Island Forum, not China, not the US, no one else.
00:28:36
Speaker 16: And so, I say that China should stick to their own.
00:28:40
Speaker 15: Business and do what they need to do rather than telling the rest of the world what we should be doing. And Australia is a leader in this region, in the Pacific region.
00:28:48
Speaker 16: We're a democracy. We want stability. We want peace in this region. And that's what we need to be standing up for. And I would urge the Prime Minister to reflect that in his language when responding to these sorts of matters.
00:29:00
Speaker 2: There are unconfirmed reports that a former Australian Defence Forces soldier has been killed by fighting in Ukraine, I stress unverified. Officials are investigating whether this combat medic, he's known only as Mozzie, died last Friday. Now, Jono, your colleague Phil Thompson has paid tribute, says he's a good man and a great soldier. I mean, what do we actually know about Mozzie and what's happened?
00:29:25
Speaker 15: Well, look, I have no details beyond what has been reported and, of course, Phil's statement. And if it is the case that Mozzie has lost his life, then that is a very, very sad outcome.
00:29:38
Speaker 16: Obviously, this conflict.
00:29:40
Speaker 15: which has consumed so much in the way of human lives, but also other resources, is one that I just hope we see an end to. And it is important that we in the West, we peace loving democratic nations do band together. And the sooner we can bring an end to this conflict and others like it, the more lives like Mozzie's can be saved. As you say, it is unverified, but of course.
00:30:01
Speaker 16: You know, if it is the case that this young man's lost his life, that is a very sad outcome.
00:30:06
Speaker 1: Yeah, it is indeed. All right, Jono, great to have you on the show as always. Thank you.
00:30:11
Speaker 2: Still to come, TV and music star Mark Holden joins us live with a special song and One Nation wants to take on Chris Minns and Kelly Sloan in the state election and its New South Wales leader will join me after this quick break.
00:30:30
Speaker 1: Welcome back.
00:30:30
Speaker 2: Well, One Nation is upping the ante in New South Wales, tapping investment banker Mike Newman to be its new state leader. He's lived in Japan for 25 years and might be an unusual choice for a party which is heavily focused on domestic politics. But Newman has hit the ground running, vowing to abolish the New South Wales Independent Planning Commission and the Net Zero Commission. And I'm pleased to say Mike Newman joins me now. Mike, I understand it's your birthday today.
00:30:59
Speaker 1: Is that right?
00:31:00
Speaker 11: That's right. 55 years young.
00:31:03
Speaker 1: Well, happy birthday.
00:31:04
Speaker 2: But I feel like this might be a tactic to come on my show when it's your birthday.
00:31:09
Speaker 1: So I can't be tough on you.
00:31:10
Speaker 11: You can go for your life. Don't worry.
00:31:13
Speaker 2: Look, your background is investment banking. You were the trade commissioner. In another lifetime, you would have run for the Liberal Party. So why One Nation?
00:31:23
Speaker 17: Pretty simple, Shari. They're the only party that I could see. And I've dealt with both sides of politics, Labor and the coalition. where there was just no factionism. We are just out to do what's best for Australians, and in my case, for the people of New South Wales. So I've said before in other interviews that I'm not really running against either of the other parties. I'm actually running for the people of New South Wales with a completely different agenda, which is all about handing power back to people, getting government out of their lives, reducing red tape, cutting taxes, and allowing private sector to finally thrive Because, you know, I've been saying for a long time that New South Wales has the worst reputation amongst all the states for ease of doing business.
00:32:05
Speaker 2: Well, the state election in New South Wales, it's in March next year, so six months away. Now, Chris Minns is a very popular Premier. I mean, would you say he's done a good job?
00:32:16
Speaker 11: Well, I like Chris Finns.
00:32:18
Speaker 17: I'll say he's a decent chap where he didn't take credit for the Metro.
00:32:21
Speaker 11: I think that's the mark of the man.
00:32:22
Speaker 17: But sadly, I mean, four years ago, I said for him when I was the commissioner that he had to get into international markets to dispel this myth that New South Wales was hard business, or at least a a difficult state to do business in. And it's taken him four years to get to India. He's playing cricket and.
00:32:39
Speaker 1: That's... He's there this week. We should tell you he's there this week, right now.
00:32:44
Speaker 17: And to be honest, I wish him a successful trip because what's good for New South Wales is good for New South Wales. So I don't mean any bad will, but what I'm saying is it took him four years. So four years before our CEO has gone to visit other nations, I think it is a bad indictment. But the thing is, if it was to stay and do domestic issues, we've had failures in healthcare, we've had failures in terms of security, and also we've had failures with respect to energy. I mean, let's face it, energy, the government has mandated that Iran closes in 2029 and the documents that the government uses to sort of ensure that we've got enough energy in the system debunks itself and we will have rolling blackouts from 2029.
00:33:28
Speaker 11: And that will destroy the economy.
00:33:29
Speaker 17: And I want to put an absolute end to that, which is why I want to get rid of the Independent Planning Commission as well.
00:33:36
Speaker 11: As the Net Zero Commission.
00:33:37
Speaker 15: Yeah, yeah.
00:33:38
Speaker 1: I mentioned that you're running on those policies.
00:33:40
Speaker 2: Now, are you planning on having your One Nation candidates running in mainly Labor seats or Coalition seats?
00:33:47
Speaker 17: Every single one. We will run in every single one. Obviously, we've got a lot of work to do, but we're getting candidates. We've got a lot of people applying and we will be vetting them to make sure that we've got the right people in place because we want those people to bleed orange. We don't mind if they have diversity of thought, but we just do not want to have people who are hangers-on or feeling that they want to catch the wave. And they're the people we definitely do not want to have inside the party.
00:34:12
Speaker 2: Have you met with Opposition Leader Kelly Sloan yet about doing a preference deal with her?
00:34:17
Speaker 11: Well, look, I'm four days in.
00:34:19
Speaker 17: And to be honest, I'm happy to talk to anyone who will get rid of this horrible Labor government. As I said, Mr Minns, I have no issues with him, but I do think he has a lot of lightweights with his ministers who are making some dreadful decisions. And, you know, whether it's housing, energy, we're just not seeing the results come through.
00:34:39
Speaker 2: I mean, talking to you now, you couldn't be more different from the last One Nation leader, Mark Latham. It's like chalk and cheese. You know, you're a serious figure. You're running as well as the candidate for Cessnock. You mentioned a moment ago energy policy being a disaster in New South Wales. Now, the largest coal mine in the Hunter Valley... It has been waiting, I understand, something like six years for an extension. It does $ 3 billion of revenue per year. I mean, do you think the government should be having a role in holding this up?
00:35:12
Speaker 11: No. I mean, this is the problem.
00:35:13
Speaker 17: I mean, it just goes to if you want to undermine long-term confidence in investors, you do exactly what the Independent Planning Commission is doing right now. What should be happening with HVO is it should have had its approval six years ago and we would have done it inside of six months. Worse than that, What is happening is the IPC is saying, well, how quickly can you transition workers out so we can close this thing? Because the thing is what people need to understand, and this is where the IPC is totally undermining confidence in all other new potential mining extension applications, is that a 20-year mine, the first five years you likely lose money and you make it all back in the back end of the other 15 years. So to sort of stop it, and expect to go for five years and then transition workers out. What is the upside for any coal company to pursue such a ridiculous strategy? That's why we want to get rid of it. No more ideology. Coal is the backbone of the hunter. We're 100% behind those workers. We want to build new coal capacity, and it is such a huge revenue source as well for the New South Wales government. You can't talk about being pro-coal and then do exactly what they're doing.
00:36:23
Speaker 1: All right.
00:36:24
Speaker 2: I just want to get your thoughts on the comments that the Attorney-General Michelle Rowland made today. She accused One Nation of, you know, having neo-Nazis infiltrate the party. Have you seen any evidence of that? And do you think if there are neo-Nazis who are members, do you think they should be kicked out of One Nation?
00:36:43
Speaker 11: There are no neo-Nazis inside the One Nation party.
00:36:46
Speaker 1: Well, how would you know that, though? You couldn't know that.
00:36:49
Speaker 17: Well, look, in terms of its membership, no, I don't know all, you know, up nearly 100,000 members that we have.
00:36:56
Speaker 11: But the thing is, is that One Nation is dead against Nazism.
00:37:00
Speaker 17: And the fact that Attorney General is even, you know, entertains the prospect that there might be is so hypocritical. I just think that, you know, we had over 50 incidents of anti-Semitism under this Labour, Albanese Labour government.
00:37:13
Speaker 11: They did nothing.
00:37:14
Speaker 17: I remember that he was playing tennis with Jay Weatherall, in Perth and visited Adas, what, three days later.
00:37:20
Speaker 11: He is an absolute joke to the community. And you know what?
00:37:23
Speaker 17: We are seeing one of the faster-growing segments of our member base are actually from the Jewish community, and we welcome them because I think they understand that we will be super tough. The police are now doing pronoun training. Under our government, if we are lucky enough to be elected, that's going to go completely, and we will crack down very hard on anyone that looks to persecute anyone within our society, and.
00:37:45
Speaker 11: The police will be given full powers.
00:37:47
Speaker 17: to investigate, they'll be given all the tools and resourcing and legal backing to do so.
00:37:51
Speaker 3: All right.
00:37:52
Speaker 2: Mike Newman, great to have you on the program. Happy 55th birthday.
00:37:56
Speaker 1: We'll see you again.
00:37:57
Speaker 11: Thanks, Shari. Goodbye. Thanks.
00:37:59
Speaker 2: Haven't heard that before, police doing pronoun training. We'll have to get more information on that. All right, still to come, how bad will the housing market get? Michael Stutchbury will be here live. Plus, remember this hit. Yeah, TV star Mark Holden will be with me right after the break.
00:38:31
Speaker 1: Welcome back.
00:38:32
Speaker 2: Well, after years away from the spotlight, Countdown star Mark Holden is making a comeback. The former teen heartthrob and Australian Idol star is finding his new voice with his latest album after battling thyroid cancer. And I'm very pleased to say he joins me now live from Melbourne. Mark, welcome and what an incredible journey. So what's prompted you to return to showbiz?
00:38:59
Speaker 4: Well, 13 years as a barrister at the Vic Bar was more than enough, quite honestly.
00:39:05
Speaker 11: I loved it. It was a great privilege.
00:39:06
Speaker 4: But I started to lose my temper with some of the judges and that's never a good thing for a barrister to do.
00:39:12
Speaker 2: I'm sure we can understand, given you're dealing with Victorian judges, we can definitely understand that.
00:39:18
Speaker 1: Yes, indeed.
00:39:19
Speaker 4: Indeed, a couple of times I had to have a quiet word to them and reset their perception of reality. But anyway, and so I wanted to turn my mind back to music and I was cleaning out my office and rejigging my office last year and I found an old CD of a tribute to Tex Morton I did with my Holden Brothers Circus family members. I found a record I did just before the cancer where I was in my 40s, just around the idle time where I was really singing well that had never come out. And my 70s records, my 70s hits were never up on streaming. So I got them and put them up on streaming. And then an album that I made with Gunditjmara elder Richard J. Franklin called Discovering Leopold Mara, put.
00:40:07
Speaker 11: That one out.
00:40:08
Speaker 4: And then last year, my daughter got married in Los Angeles. And on the way to Los Angeles, I I met a man in Hawaii who told me the story of knowing Shirley MacLaine and that Shirley MacLaine got to know him and said that the reason he suffers the blues is because he's a descendant of Genghis Khan and he's still paying the old man's dues. And as he said that, the song appeared in my head.
00:40:33
Speaker 10: Wow.
00:40:33
Speaker 4: And when I was in Los Angeles for my daughter's wedding, which was a very, very happy time, I met with my old mates who are songwriters with me in Los Angeles and they're They're all sort of in their 70s and got heart problems and miserable. And I said, let's write a song together. And I showed my mate who did Shakespeare's Sister and Mila Jovovich recorded me a number of great records. And we wrote Shirley MacLaine and then it was the start of kind of an outflow of songwriting over the last 18 months that ended up in this album.
00:41:08
Speaker 14: Incredible.
00:41:09
Speaker 2: Now, what caught my attention, and if there's any viewers out there who have good eyesight, they might notice that you're wearing a little Matilda B badge on your jacket.
00:41:18
Speaker 11: Yes.
00:41:19
Speaker 2: So in your album you've got this beautiful tribute to young Matilda B who was killed at Bondi.
00:41:25
Speaker 1: Here's a clip of it. Let's have a listen.
00:41:28
Speaker 16: MUSIC PLAYS.
00:41:32
Speaker 18: Take the keys from the jailer And the old men in the wheelchairs And oh Matilda the innocent Was shot as she was dancing Now she follows wherever we may go.
00:41:57
Speaker 4: Sing Matilda.
00:42:00
Speaker 19: Oh, sing Matilda Oh, come, oh, sing Matilda.
00:42:11
Speaker 1: It's just so emotional. It's so beautiful, Mark. What made you record this?
00:42:15
Speaker 11: Thank you, Sherry.
00:42:17
Speaker 4: Well, like millions of other Australians, I was moved to tears and it just... I found myself listening to Tom Waits, who I love, And I found myself listening to that song and then I found myself getting into the lyrics and I became Tom Trobert on Bondi Beach and was a witness to the atrocity. And I just, I changed the words a tiny bit. I hope Tom will forgive me, but my young production manager, Tyler Sunshine, has connections to the Britvan family and And I couldn't do it without their permission. So we reached out to Michael and Michael was very beautiful and gave us permission. And so it's a way to honour her memory and keep her spirit alive. And it's, I mean, on the weekend, my neighbours came over and bought me a year of Jewish cooking book. Oh, yes. And handed me the book with tears in her eyes and thanked me for the song. And it's a prayer song is what it is.
00:43:35
Speaker 15: It is.
00:43:35
Speaker 1: It's so beautiful.
00:43:36
Speaker 2: I was playing it in the dressing room just before when I was getting ready and someone said that it also sounded like your voice had changed.
00:43:43
Speaker 1: Is that the thyroid cancer? Has it changed the way you sing as well?
00:43:48
Speaker 11: Yes.
00:43:49
Speaker 4: I got thyroid cancer just as I was just about to sign the bar roll. And being a junior barrister at 55, I had my neck was.
00:44:01
Speaker 11: All puffed out but I could speak.
00:44:04
Speaker 4: Yeah. And so I used my voice in that way and then gradually over the last 15 years by joining sort of a, well, I started a bar choir firstly and stood down with the terrible barristers, men, you know, bass baritones and making noise. And then I'm a member of a Melbourne club called the Savage Club here in Melbourne and a bunch of us old men meet once a month for two hours with a martini and sing and make music together.
00:44:34
Speaker 1: Sounds so incredible.
00:44:37
Speaker 4: And so over the last 15 years I figured out a new way to sing and I wrote the new songs and the album with a new voice.
00:44:44
Speaker 2: It's certainly working for you. Thank you for everything you do. We're all going to go look up your music. Thanks for being with us, Mark.
00:44:51
Speaker 16: Thanks, Sherry.
00:44:51
Speaker 1: All right.
00:44:53
Speaker 2: After the break, how badly will the housing market fall? Michael Stutchbury will join me. Well, Australia is facing its worst housing crash in 40 years, as we've been discussing, as the government's tax changes send values into freefall. And with me now is the Centre for Independent Studies Executive Director, Michael Stutchbury.
00:45:15
Speaker 1: Stutch, good to see you again.
00:45:17
Speaker 20: Good to be here, Shari.
00:45:18
Speaker 1: You didn't tell me I was going to have to follow Mark Holden. I won't make you sing, don't worry, unless you want to.
00:45:23
Speaker 5: No, no, no.
00:45:24
Speaker 1: I mean, tell us, how bad is this going to get?
00:45:27
Speaker 20: Well, I think we are seeing a significant house price correction. You know, house prices in Australia, as everybody said, have been pumped up a lot. There's been restrictions on the supply of housing because of government zoning and planning laws that's pushed up the price of houses over the last 10, 20 years. And now we're seeing the combination, I think, of three Reserve Bank interest rates, which weren't expected a year ago. And, of course, the federal government's tax crackdown on capital gains tax, particularly on investors and negative gearing in the May budget together. That's a bit of a whammy. And it's hit particularly Sydney and Melbourne house prices. They're down about 5%, I think, on the numbers. And you're getting these forecasts that overall national house prices could fall about 10%.
00:46:11
Speaker 1: I mean, it's huge.
00:46:12
Speaker 2: I think confidence, we're being told, is playing a huge factor as well. People are nervous about the tax changes, even if they haven't taken effect yet. So really, people are worried about any movement.
00:46:24
Speaker 20: Yeah, I think if your housing is a long-term investment, as Jim Chalmers would say, if you hold onto it for a while, you can ride through these sort of things. If you've got to sell up your house, though, you don't want falling house prices. People want to get into the housing market, of course. It's a good thing from there. But it can shake a bit of confidence and it has a so-called wealth effect because housing is the biggest asset in the economy. If the price falls, people feel a little less wealthy and that can affect spending in the economy and slow it down.
00:46:56
Speaker 1: I had a.
00:46:58
Speaker 2: an auctioneer, Tom Pannis, on the show last week. And he said to me that, you know, because the valuations for the capital gains tax are taken on the 1st of July, 2027, we're seeing this massive fall in house prices. That's when the valuations will be taken around then. Over time, when the property market invariably goes up, that's just more tax revenue for the government.
00:47:19
Speaker 20: Yeah, it goes to the whole debate about whether, you know, you should toughen up the treatment of capital gains or not. I think probably overall, it's a hit to the economy. And particularly when you go outside housing as well and you're taxing, in effect, small business and businesses and investments and entrepreneurs, that's a hit to the economy overall.
00:47:42
Speaker 2: Now, moving away from the housing market, I mean, this has been a softening in the economy.
00:47:47
Speaker 1: We're hearing that from retailers.
00:47:48
Speaker 2: We're Then there's also we're seeing these forecasts from economists who are saying that we're going to have zero growth in the next quarter.
00:47:59
Speaker 1: Do you think this could be a recession?
00:48:01
Speaker 20: Well, tomorrow is an exciting day because it's the June quarter gross domestic product, national accounts, and we'll be talking about that. There have been some economists talking about very low growth, perhaps zero growth in the quarter, in the June quarter. The latest ones I've seen have had not quite going to zero and not quite going to negative, but you will see, I think, a slowdown, quite a significant slowdown in annual growth in the economy. The latest reading of the latest 12 months before was about 2.5%. And it's got a fall to below 2%. The thing is, the Reserve Bank's trying to make it fall below 2%, to slow down growth, because they're trying to get inflation down. The economy's been operating beyond capacity. I think we might have spoken about that last time I was on. And it's still happening. And so they're trying to deliberately slow the economy down. And the question is, is even with the economy slowing down, the latest inflation numbers have been on the high side. Inflation pretty stubborn at 3.5%. They've got to get it to 2 to 3. You could well see another Reserve Bank increase in late September or in early November.
00:49:05
Speaker 1: Yeah, so you think at least one rate rise this year?
00:49:08
Speaker 20: I think going by the hawkishness of the Reserve Bank Governor Michelle Bullock and the fact that housing, that inflation has been bubbling up, rents are going up as well as part of all of this, because it's been a hit to rental investment. So rents are going up and that feeds into the CPI. I think that will probably offset signs of softness in the economy because that's what the RBA is trying to achieve. I'd be surprised if they didn't do another rate increase before Christmas because they've been through this last time.
00:49:38
Speaker 5: They lowered rates.
00:49:39
Speaker 20: a year ago and inflation bubbled up, they can't afford that to happen again.
00:49:43
Speaker 6: Yeah.
00:49:43
Speaker 2: And now we're seeing signs that the US might have to raise rates. I mean, really, it's just been Australia on this rate rise inflation journey.
00:49:51
Speaker 1: But now tell us what's happening in America.
00:49:53
Speaker 20: Yeah, Australia has stood out for being the one that's because inflation's bubbled up. And as you say, the RBA Reserve Banks have to lift rates. Now you see Kevin Walsh. This is Donald Trump's handpicked Federal Reserve Chairman for the one he put in there to lower interest rates. And just over the weekend at this so-called Jackson Hole conference of the central bank in the US, the Fed, Walsh has come out with what's known as quite a hawkish line of words, a speech, which said inflation's been bubbling up. It's our job to get inflation down to. Theirs is even a tougher target, 2%, not 2% to 3%.
00:50:28
Speaker 1: Where's their inflation rate at the moment?
00:50:30
Speaker 20: Theirs is up around about where ours is as well, around about that 3% to 4% thing, and they need to get it down to two. It's been above two for quite a while. Their interest rates are lower than ours. They're in the threes, not in the fours. So you could well see the US Fed lift interest rates and that puts pressure on the RBA to follow as well.
00:50:52
Speaker 1: Yeah, well, it also puts pressure on the President. I mean, it could.
00:50:56
Speaker 2: Worst time for him politically. He doesn't want rates to rise, that's for sure.
00:50:59
Speaker 20: Yeah, well, he called the previous central bank governor all sorts of names for doing it, and now he might get that, as you say, at a very inopportune time, coming into the congressional midterm elections.
00:51:10
Speaker 1: Yeah, no, exactly. All right, Michael Stachry, great to have you on the show as always. Thanks so much.
00:51:13
Speaker 11: Thanks, Shari.
00:51:15
Speaker 2: And thanks, everyone, for your company this evening. We'll have another big show tomorrow night, so don't miss it. But right now, in the Man Cave, Paul Murray.
