Full Transcript for Credlin | 19 October

mainly men, dressed in black, wearing balaclavas, determined to tear down any symbol of French civilisation. How quickly a country can turn on itself. Much of what we are watching play out in Paris. was sadly predicted by the journalist and author Douglas Murray in his 2017 book, The Strange Death of Europe. A deep analytical book, Murray chronicled the issues of immigration, identity and Islam across the countries of Europe. And if you haven't read this book, I urge you, get a copy. Because if you think Islam as terror and loss of cultural identity is just a problem for Europe, then think again. as the events of Bondi last year show us all too well. In six months time, France will hold its presidential elections and Macron is term limited. meaning he can't run again. Without a doubt, the events of the weekend will make an already tinderbox election race ignite. And as we've seen already in recent German elections with the elevation of AFD, polarisation of politics between the far left and the far right will continue now at pace. Many years ago, our geography here was seen as a problem. That famous line, the tyranny of distance, left many fearing we would be a cultural backwater. But for many decades, this in fact was our salvation. It meant that the troubles elsewhere either never made it to Australia, or when they did, we had sufficient time and notice to avoid the worst of them. Not so anymore, given the huge unfettered immigration numbers allowed in under the Albanese government. Four years now of record high immigration from areas of the world where our values are not shared. Again, it's staggering that Australia took in over 3,000 people from war-torn Gaza with scarcely any security vetting, with the vast bulk of them having never returned despite the war ending. Worse still, the government reports now that the majority of them have lodged refugee applications to stay in Australia permanently. Whistleblowers are now telling me that the Albanese government's rapidly approving citizenship in many cases, within 12 to 18 months. The city committee says this has nothing to do with good process and everything to do with trying to lock in a new pro-Labour voter base before the next federal election. Whatever it takes is the Labor motto. And with increasing pressure from Muslim political groups like Muslim Votes Matter and Muslim Voice in key seats in Melbourne and Sydney, capitulation and appeasement now appears to be the Labor way. And yet when I speak to Muslim leaders overseas, their message is precisely the opposite. It's one of warning, not appeasement. as it was in June when I sat down with Amjad Tahir, an expert in Middle Eastern politics and strategy, a Muslim man based in the United Arab Emirates. 00:10:33 Speaker 6: This is a problem. 00:10:34 Speaker 9: Some people in Australia, they're trying to be more Muslim than I. You will not be more Arab than I. You will not be more Muslim than me. And I'm telling you, ban the Muslim Brotherhood.

00:10:45 Speaker 1: So is the long game to take over these Western countries, is that the long game? for the Muslim Brotherhood? 00:10:51 Speaker 9: Yes, there will come a point right now where I believe we're going to be in the time of action. The next step is action, which means they're already recruited, especially after the 7th of October. He gave them enough place to recruit people and use that emotion and grab on them. 00:11:10 Speaker 6: And then they went through the education system also. 00:11:13 Speaker 9: So now they have enough fund in terms of the charities that they use and the umbrella of the charities. 00:11:20 Speaker 6: And they have enough imams, and they have enough recruitments. The next is action. They will carry terrorist attacks. 00:11:26 Speaker 9: More terrorist attacks are coming to Australia, more coming to the United Kingdom. There will be terrorist attack. And you will go back into this interview that we're having to remind people, we did warn about this. It's not because we're very smart and clever about this, and we have, it's because the Middle East understand that these terrorists. 00:11:48 Speaker 6: Because we suffer. 00:11:49 Speaker 1: What's your message to Australia? 00:11:53 Speaker 6: Ban the Muslim Brotherhood. 00:11:54 Speaker 9: Do not tolerate people who do not tolerate you. And treat your country like your home. 00:12:02 Speaker 6: And treat the citizens like your children. Care about them. 00:12:06 Speaker 9: Future is really dark if you're going to allow these guys to be the elites, the Muslim Brotherhood to be the elites of your society. 00:12:13 Speaker 6: You have a great history. Protect your civilization. 00:12:18 Speaker 1: And this, a seminal speech in 2017 from the UAE's foreign minister, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahan, who gave the politicians of Europe a massive wake-up call. Speaking at an event in Saudi Arabia, he predicted that Europe would eventually see a greater number of radical extremists and terrorists emerging from its own borders than from the Middle East. And he blamed this on the lack of decisive political action from Western leaders, and their obsession with political correctness, calling out Muslim organisations in the West who he described as acting as incubators of terror. And to make sure his message was heard loud and clear, the UAE foreign minister deliberately switched from Arabic to English mid-speech so that his message could be directly understood without translation drift or ambiguity. 00:13:16 Speaker 10: And let me say this in English so you can understand what I'm saying. 00:13:21 Speaker 1: I have translation. 00:13:22 Speaker 10: No, I know you have translation, but I just want to make sure you get it right. There will come a day that we will see far more radical extremists and terrorists coming out of Europe because of lack of decision making, trying to be politically correct, or assuming that they know the Middle East and they know Islam and they know

the others far better than we do. And I'm sorry, but that's pure ignorance. 00:14:00 Speaker 1: There you go. That's a warning from a Muslim leader there that could not have been any clearer. Import the third world and those values that hate who you are and don't be surprised by what happens. All right, let's head to Canberra now for tonight's political headlines with our reporter, Ken Redden. Good evening. 00:14:24 Speaker 11: A beef over meat exports is threatening to derail a free trade agreement with Europe. 00:14:29 Speaker 6: We've called this the worst trade deal ever from day one. 00:14:32 Speaker 11: The agreement was inked in March after eight years of negotiation. But to take effect, it has to first pass the parliament. 00:14:39 Speaker 8: We get one opportunity to reach an agreement with the Europeans. 00:14:44 Speaker 5: This is it. 00:14:44 Speaker 11: The nationals are withholding support, arguing it's a dud deal for farmers. 00:14:49 Speaker 8: In particular, dairy industry will face massively unfair competition from European cheesemakers. 00:14:54 Speaker 6: It's not perfect. But we don't think there's a reason there to say that this should be held back. We want the parliament to get behind it. 00:15:02 Speaker 11: One Nation leader Pauline Hanson is refusing to apologise for the latest cartoon controversy, this time for an episode mocking the private health battles of independent Senator Jackie Lambie. 00:15:12 Speaker 4: Decent leaders don't stir up hatred, pushing us towards bloody anarchy, because that's exactly what she's doing. 00:15:18 Speaker 11: Have a bit of a laugh, Jackie, and lighten up. 00:15:22 Speaker 6: I physically can't care. It's called satire. That's what we do. 00:15:26 Speaker 11: Cameron Redden, News 24, Canberra. 00:15:30 Speaker 1: All right, let's go now to the latest controversy surrounding the Melbourne Muslim organisation, My Centre, and its leader, Samir Abu Hamza Mokhtari. We discussed this at length, as you know, last week. The Premier has today contemned the comments from this imam regarding family violence and rape. but stopped short of ruling out further community funding for the group, in particular to expand their current facilities out in Melbourne's northern suburbs. They want, of course, to build Australia's largest Islamic centre in the Melbourne area of Mickleham. Now, a reminder here, the site in question has been promised some $ 600, 000 in funding from state governments, but when pressed on the matter, the Premier said it was McTardy's leadership that was under question... but that the centre itself did good work. He then said that the opposition leader, Jess Wilson's comments about the issue, which included her saying that the Liberals would stop funding my centre, were, quote, loose with the truth. 00:16:32 Speaker 10: That's, again, her being very loose with the truth. 00:16:38 Speaker 6: I caution her. 00:16:39 Speaker 4: To be very careful about the accusations she has made on social media today. 00:16:47 Speaker 1: All right, we'll get into that in a moment, but I'll bring in the opposition leader because we've got some really disturbing, worrying news just breaking now in relation to Helen Haynes, who, of course, is the independent MP in the seat at Indi, a federal seat up near sort of Wangaratta Way. Reports are this afternoon, Jess, that she has been struck by a car. What we're hearing is she may have lost a limb, lost a leg, and there is some suggestion, unconfirmed, but a suggestion that she may have been targeted. 00:17:15 Speaker 2: Well, my thoughts are with Helen and her family. This sounds like an absolutely shocking incident. I cannot imagine the fear and the trauma that her family is going through right now and my. 00:17:26 Speaker 1: Thoughts are with her and as this incident unfolds. Yeah, I just think it's just a reminder, isn't it, that when the hurly-gurly of politics, whatever the circumstances here, you all wish each other well. Of course you do. Of course you do. 00:17:38 Speaker 2: We're all people at the end of the day and my best wishes are with Helen and her family right now. 00:17:44 Speaker 1: So the Premier says today when you speak out about the sermon from Abu Hamza, the Imam, and his comments in relation to, you know, it's okay to rape a wife in marriage, it's okay to beat your wife, provided there's no blood and no bruising. When you speak out in relation to that, you're loose with the truth. 00:18:05 Speaker 2: I think it is appalling by the Premier, his comments today. This man, this hate preacher, to your point, has said that it's OK to rape your wife or to beat your wife in Victoria. That is disgusting behaviour. And I will call that out, Peter. I will always call that out. And to see Victorian taxpayer money go and fund this centre where this man is the preacher is unacceptable. And I will be direct. I will not allow that to happen under my leadership. I will not allow there to be further permit approvals when it comes to the expansion of this site because I will always ensure that we are putting people's safety first and we are standing up for our Australian values. 00:18:50 Speaker 1: So these comments were made I think in about 2003, but they resurfaced in 2007. They drew the attention of Kevin Rudd. He was Prime Minister at the time. Plenty of headlines. You go from 2007 to a whole series of payments made by to this organisation and organisations connected to Samir Moqtadi, after he says that. 00:19:14 Speaker 2: How does that happen? How does that happen? And this was raised with the government. We have raised this in the parliament here, our concerns about this organisation and this individual receiving taxpayer funding. And yet the government has continued to allow it to happen. And I think Victorians have had enough of this. They've had enough of the Premier standing up and saying one thing, but then continuing to see taxpayer dollars fund this, funding this type of

behaviour, and it is unacceptable. 00:19:44 Speaker 1: Okay, he wants to build, my centre has an offshoot called My College, he wants to build a largest ever Islamic centre. There'll be a huge mosque, primary schools for girls and boys, primary schools, high schools for boys and girls, all segregated, of course. And he wants to do this There's about $ 11 million already raised by the organisation. He put an application in earlier this year, Jess. It is on the desk of Sonia Kilkenny, the Planning Minister. We've got an election, what, a month away now. How does that get stopped or do you inherit that? this Islamic centre involving this man? 00:20:27 Speaker 2: Well, we say to the planning minister, do not approve this planning permit. Do not do so before the election. We have an election in 40 days. There is no need to approve this now. But as I said this morning, and I will be very direct again with your viewers tonight, I will not allow this to proceed. I will not approve this planning permit and we will not see another taxpayer dollar go to this centre. 00:20:51 Speaker 1: So if you wake up On the Sunday after the election and you're the Premier, will you tear it up if it's been made? 00:20:56 Speaker 2: Yes. 00:20:57 Speaker 6: You will? 00:20:57 Speaker 1: Yes. That simple. 00:20:59 Speaker 2: We are not seeing hate preachers, people talking about the fact that it is OK to rape your wife or to beat your wife. That is disgusting. And at a time in Victoria when we are seeing community safety put at the end of the priorities from this government, but also the amount of family violence increasing It is not good enough and I will put an end to it. 00:21:23 Speaker 1: This would make the first premier, in fact, first political leader in the country right now to do more than just, you know, decry hate speeches, Jess, if he actually took a stand against them. 00:21:34 Speaker 2: I've always said, Peter, that, you know, people can stand up and they can say that anti-Semitism has no place. They can stand up that hate speech has no place. 00:21:42 Speaker 1: But words are cheap. 00:21:44 Speaker 2: You actually need to take action and that is the exact type of premier that I will be. 00:21:49 Speaker 1: Well, let's go to other issues. Debt obviously is a huge focus. Reports out today the Victoria situation is worsening by the moment. We know we have concerns from rating agencies. A lot of people are saying you've got to get tough, you've got to deliver sort of an austerity budget and turn things around. There's no more taxes Victorians can pay. I mean, the most taxed individuals and businesses in the country are Can you turn this around and can you turn this around and not make it even harder for Victorians? 00:22:21 Speaker 2: We have to turn this around. And when I became the leader, I said my number one priority was repairing the budget. Because unless we repair the budget, we cannot fund the essential services that Victorians rely on. Our healthcare

services, investing in more police, making sure that kids here have the best possible education. That is what is at stake here. And that's why we have outlined our 10-year economic vision for this state. We have committed to a cash surplus by 2032. And in simple terms, Peter, you know what this means. That means that there is more money coming in than what is going out. And only then can you stop borrowing and start to reduce the debt and reduce the interest repayments so we can guarantee the essential services. 00:23:04 Speaker 1: Can you cut the back end, Jess? Because everyone wants more police. We want more ambulances so we don't have ramping. But I've never seen a more bloated public servants bureaucracy class in Victoria. And we saw from that IBAC report last week, you know, $ 300 million given to people who were never eligible for those business loans and then covered up by this very same bureaucracy. 00:23:28 Speaker 2: Well, we've seen Victoria's public service grow by 60% over the past decade, while population growth has only been 19% here. And that's exactly why we announced that we will put a hiring freeze on the back end of the public service. Now, that doesn't affect our teachers, our fireys, our nurses, our doctors, our police officers, but it stops the growth of the back end, the bureaucrats in the public service. so that we can actually invest in those frontline and essential services. That delivers us a $ 22 billion saving over the next decade. They are the disciplined and responsible decisions that we must make to repair the budget. But most importantly, to your first point, we can't keep taxing Victorians. We need to grow our economy here. We need to attract investment back to this state. And that's why we've made a number of announcements around reducing taxes of businesses on individuals. to put more money back into the pockets of Victorians, to grow our economy here. But most importantly, we need to ensure that we repair the budget so we can guarantee the essential services. I have the team, I have the plan, and I have the experience to get this done. And we are absolutely determined that we can see all Victorians share in a growing economy. 00:24:41 Speaker 1: I like that. Thank you, Jess. Thanks, Peter. All right, let's go back to the issue of the rights. Breaking out across Europe, of course, and ramifications for here at home. Joining me now, our political contributor, News24, Chris Ullman. Chris Ullman coming to us from Canberra, of course. Chris, you know, I played a bit earlier in the program some comments from Macron. basically saying it was wayward students and who can be upset with them given their cost of living anger. But you've seen the footage, we've all seen the footage, plenty of Palestinian flags in the crowd. I mean, if you want to globalise the intifada, Chris, this is what it looks like. 00:25:18 Speaker 7: Yeah, well, isn't it interesting, Peter, how the Palestinian flag has kind of become the flag of convenience for all the grievances of the left and it just bobs up everywhere. And when you combine all of those grievances together, it appears to be a grievance... with the West in general. Let's not sugarcoat this. Those protests, the ones that turned violent, are being driven by the far left in France. The French government has no doubt that that is certainly the case. Now, if this was a far right protest, I know how those protests would be being reported at the moment as the streets of Paris burned. What we're seeing at the moment is an uprising inside France the French community. There's an enormous amount of debt there. 00:25:58 Speaker 6: There are enormous amount. 00:25:59 Speaker 7: Of problems there, but nothing can justify the violence that we've seen on the streets as we head towards a presidential election. And this may be just a taste of things to come. 00:26:08 Speaker 1: And we saw this with AFD in Germany. I think this, the events of the last few hours, the weekend, are really going to play into what is already a tinderbox, as we know, with Le Pen and others in France. And we know, obviously, that Macron can't run again. I think it's going to be a very troublesome six months for France. 00:26:34 Speaker 6: Oh, absolutely. 00:26:34 Speaker 7: And I think that we'll see more violence from the left in particular as we head towards that election. And let's not forget the fact that we have seen violence from the left on the streets around the world, dismissed by leaders from the left forever let's go back to 2000 the city of melbourne you'll remember that when we had the s11 protesters against the trade meeting that was held there i can go back into the 1990s and know that there was a conference an adex defense conference that used to be held in canberra and the recourse to violence that we saw there so yeah i think it's very troubling time ahead for france as it heads towards that next election and don't forget too that what normally happens if they end up in a runoff and that's le pen up against the a leader of the far left, then usually what happens is there is a firewall where everyone votes and gangs up against the right. Now, if Le Pen gets a fairly significant percentage of the vote in France, I don't know that things are going to settle down after that election. 00:27:32 Speaker 1: All right, I'll leave it here and I'll come back to it a bit later in the program. I want to go to those comments from... Our former Finance Minister, of course, now OECD Secretary-General, Mathias Cormann in Australia, warning the country about Australia's stalled productivity, highlighting it as a key factor in the nation's cost of living crisis. These are remarks over the weekend. He told The Australian, you either produce more or you borrow from your children. When competition weakens, as it has, prices rise faster than they should. When productivity stalls, says Matthias Cormann, as it has, wages rise more slowly than they should. Well, all of

that's right, but who's doing anything about it, Chris? 00:28:14 Speaker 7: Yeah, Peter, and Matthias really didn't tell us anything that we didn't know. And, you know, I know and respect him. I think he's doing a very good job where he is at the moment. But the one thing that I will say, Wes, was A glaring absence from his speech is any talk about what's happening to our energy system and net zero. Now, he seems to embrace that since he got the top job at the OECD. It's doing us no favours. And if he wants to do us a favour, then he could actually draw a big circle around that and say that that might be part of the problem that we have with productivity. Until we fix that, we won't fix the rest of it. So I thank him for his observation. I think it could have been a bit broader. 00:28:49 Speaker 1: Yeah, I do think he has drunk the clean energy Kool-Aid, but I think that's the blood price for getting these sort of international appointments. But it's all going to be sorted out by Chris Bowen. Apparently we will be told by the end of the week on what it really will cost for Snowy Hydro 2.0. Malcolm Turnbull said it would be $ 2 billion and done in about six years. Well, we're way over budget. We're way over time. Where do you think it's going to land? 00:29:17 Speaker 7: I can tell you, Peter, I have it on very good authority that the Snow Hydro project itself, let's leave aside the transmission lines, but that $ 2 billion project that you talked about when Malcolm Turnbull first raised it, which was going to be done in four years, well, it's now going to be $ 22 billion. 00:29:31 Speaker 1: To cost of completion. 00:29:33 Speaker 6: $ 22 billion. That is 10 times the initial.... 00:29:40 Speaker 8: Cost. 00:29:41 Speaker 7: I don't know what the date of completion is now, but we do know that that has blown out to 2027 in their official plan. And by the way, this is an estimate of that total cost. It's not the actual total cost. We'll only know that when this project is completed. This is a farce. And let's not forget, too, that when this project is completed, if it is ever completed, this will be a net consumer of electricity. What you do with pumped hydro is you pump water uphill when it's cheap and let it flow downhill when it's not. It does not generate electricity. It shifts electricity in time. That's its process. As Malcolm Turnbull said, the battery of the nation. Well, this is One hell of a cost for a great big battery. And by the way, even looking at the CSIRO's report, it would be cheaper to build a gigantic nuclear power plant which would generate power 24-7 and run for 100 years. 00:30:36 Speaker 1: Oh, my goodness, Chris. It gets worse and worse. And if Bowen says it's $ 22 billion, you reckon it'll be double that before it is ever built if, as you say... that ever happens. Chris Yeoman, thank you. All right, quick break. After the break, more on the carnage in Europe. Open borders are a big problem for the West. How is Australia faring, though? That's next. Welcome back. Coming up, the wonderful story of Mal's last dancer. You'll know that. Well, you're going to meet the man, my good friend, the Brisbane dance legend, Lee Swingsen. He's got a new book, the sequel to that global bestseller. He'll join me at the desk in a moment. But let's return to Europe. But before I do, I just want to update you. There's been a press conference alert put out by the Prime Minister and Tony Burke, and Tony Burke's inclusion is interesting. It's for 7 o'clock tonight at the Commonwealth Parliamentary Offices in Sydney. We have been told it has something to do with Helen Haynes. I have not seen confirmed reports of that earlier claim that she was targeted, but we do know it's a terrible injury that looks like it has been suffered by the independent member for Indi. If there's more, I will alert you straight away. But let's now bring in Peter Jennings, our Defence Secretary, expert here on News24 to discuss Europe and a bit more than that, if I can. Peter, you know, on one hand, you've got Macron who's saying, don't confuse these legitimate demands of the young people. They're right to be upset about a cost of living. But in every image I saw over the weekend... This wasn't student protests. This wasn't, you know, French flags flying. It wasn't the stuff we've seen before from French students or even the yellow vest crowd from a few years ago. This was violence. It was thuggery. And there was a sea of Palestinian flags everywhere I looked. This looked more like Gaza, to be honest, Peter, than Paris. 00:32:48 Speaker 12: Yes, Peter, there's a coalition group known as the Black Bloc, which has been active in the violent end of these protests. And it brings together anarchists, communists and socialists of all different stripes. They're also active in Belgium, by the way. And these are the people who are particularly attacking government buildings and seeking to pick fights with the police. And they're there in significant numbers. 00:33:16 Speaker 6: We're all used. 00:33:16 Speaker 12: To riots in France, I guess, over the decades. But this is different, I think, for a number of reasons. It's much bigger. It's hundreds of thousands of people. It's much more widespread across the country. It's not just in France. And the extent of the violence is very significant. I believe hundreds and hundreds of police injured and several thousand people arrested, Peter. So, you know, I think this is something, if it continues for a few more days, we will be talking about the security of the Fifth Republic and wondering if it's going to somehow change as a result of this. And clearly, one final point, it's been an intelligence failure. Domestic security has failed to anticipate that this was going to happen, that it was going to be as directed and violent as it was. And I think that, you know, this is going to be a serious political crisis for France all the way up to the next election. 00:34:12 Speaker 1:

A reference at the top to 2015, 2016. the Batalan attacks, Jali Abdo. I mean, there's been a terrible history over the last 20 years of Islamist attacks in France. We've seen smaller attacks on priests and churchgoers. We've seen, obviously, the attacks against teachers. Any mere mention of Muhammad and there is a risk of life. There's that saying, Peter, you know, that demography is destiny. I look at France and I've gone there for many, many years. I look at France now and I wonder whether it's too far gone. What do you think? 00:34:55 Speaker 12: Yes, it's changed so dramatically and very quickly, frankly, in the last 10 years or so because of the pickup in the pace of migration. And the same is true in Belgium. We're all aware of the significant problems that has been created in Germany with Angela Merkel bringing in so many people from Syria. So there's a massive problem all across Europe And it certainly feeds into the political crisis that we see on the streets of French cities today. One synagogue, by the way, I notice, destroyed in Paris as well. So there's a strong anti-Semitic element to it as well. This is the left turning on the European political system. and goodness knows how far it's going to go because the immediate challenge is for the police to get the streets back under control, and that doesn't seem to be happening easily in France. 00:35:51 Speaker 1: Yeah, we saw a little outbreak in northern Italy that has been quashed pretty quickly in Milan and elsewhere. I think it was Bologna, and Giorgio Bologna doesn't muck around. It'll be interesting to see whether it, you know, finds its way to Spain with the left government there has basically opened the door, as you know, to a whole lot of of undocumented migrants. Just quickly, this story out of London. There's a man on the screen I'll show you, Mohammed Yassin, part of al-Qaeda, part of the unit that beheaded the British man Ken Bigley. He joined ISIS, ended up in Germany, then made his way to Britain illegally. He was locked up for six months of a two-year sentence and now is reportedly out free and living in a taxpayer-funded hostel in Britain. How absurd is this? 00:36:41 Speaker 6: It's just outrageous. 00:36:42 Speaker 12: I understand he also did a five-year term in Germany convicted of the most heinous terrorist crimes. And then the Germans tried to deport him to Iraq and he was not allowed to be deported for fear of his safety if he went back to Iraq. Now he's managed to end up in the UK. And, you know, we have a situation here where so often it seems the legal systems of Western democracies is being used against us to privilege the interests of people who should not be in our societies. 00:37:14 Speaker 3: It's outrageous. 00:37:16 Speaker 12: And I think this will just add to the sense of political anger that exists in the UK right now. And, again, let's not underestimate the potential for the sort of violence we've seen on the streets in France. to cross over to the

Channel and potentially start to impact in the UK. There's an awful lot of copycat violence in these circumstances. So it's something we should be concerned about, I think, also in Australia. 00:37:40 Speaker 1: Yeah, it's shocking. It's a shocking weekend of news, I have to say. Thank you, Peter Jennings. After the break, we'll have a bit of hope, a change of pace. One of my favourite authors, the wonderful man Lee Shwing Sen, the author of Mao's Last Dancer, joins me in the studio. Welcome back. Seven o'clock, press conference, Prime Minister and Tony Burke in relation to a horrific accident today suffered by Helen Haynes, the independent MP in the city of Indi in Victoria. We'll know more about that in a moment. But now, hope. We need some hope, don't we? It's been a pretty tough show tonight. Let's go to the remarkable story of Li Shui-Shen. Born into utter poverty in Mao's communist China, he was selected as a child to train at Madame Mao's Beijing Dance Academy, beginning a journey that would take him from that brutal seven-year training regime... to becoming one of the world's great ballet dancers. It's an extraordinary story. And it, of course, was the book, Mao's Last Dancer, that he authored. It's an autobiography, but was also made into that award winning international film. He's a much loved Australian. He left dance, went to finance and then came back to lead the Australian ballet for 12 years, transforming it into a world-class dance company. But there's more. He's got a new book out now. It's the sequel to Mal's Last Dancer. It's called The Lucky Son. I'm pleased to say I'm proud to call him a friend and he joins me now in the studio. This is a fantastic book. coming into Christmas, but not least of all, you are now part of the Australian migrant story. And I think around the country, particularly after your first book, everyone's just taken you to Hartley. You know, you are, you and that book and the story you told is something we hold very dear. What prompted you to write this next, I guess I can call it a chapter of your life story? Yes. 00:39:56 Speaker 13: Miles Last Dancer's story finished in 1988. So it's been really 38 years ago. And ever since then, of course, readers from all around the world have been asking me to write a follow-up. They want to know more about my life, my wife's life, my parents, six brothers and all the people involved that they really cared deeply about in My Last Answer. But it really took me 23 years since the publication of My Last Answer to really decide what I was going to write next. And the time feels right. Yes. After I retired from the Queensland Ballet, I felt a follow-up, a sequel, is the right thing to write. 00:40:43 Speaker 1: Well, I've got a copy of it here. It's called The Lucky Son. I mean... That's a beautiful title. Why do you regard yourself as the lucky son? 00:40:52 Speaker 13: My mother always called me her lucky son because the luck comes with responsibility. Ever since a child living in China, my aspiration, my dream was to help my family, my parents and six brothers, to help them to improve their living standard because we were born in such poverty. peasants even at tree blocks to survive in some of the years. So for me, that willingness and that desire to help my family always motivated me to try harder in life. And also, I count myself very fortunate. Along the journey, some special people have helped me to reach my potential and to become one of the top dancers in the world. So I feel so grateful for all the things happened to me in my life and to be grateful to be in this beautiful country. 00:41:52 Speaker 1: They say, though, don't they, that people sort of make their own luck as well. I mean, don't underplay your own sense of drive and doggedness, resilience and those things. Do you think we've lost that a little bit in humanity, particularly in a wealthy country like Australia? Do you think we are determined enough to make our success or do we think it's got to be handed to us. 00:42:15 Speaker 8: On a plate. 00:42:16 Speaker 13: Well, I think things came quite easily for the young generation. And I do worry about my own children as well, because by going through very tough experiences in my early childhood had made me more resilient, more determined to make things work. And when opportunity came my way, I tried my best to make something out of it. So I think you do create your own luck. And I think the harder I work, the luckier I got. I truly feel that way. And then the more success emerge from the hard work. 00:42:52 Speaker 1: Yeah, you weren't just a world-class dancer. I mean, you go from nothing to that. Then you take on finance. You become incredibly successful in that world. And then you take on the Queensland Ballet and take it from a relatively provincial organisation to to a world-leading dance company. I mean, what makes you special to touch all these different things and make such a success of them? 00:43:19 Speaker 13: I guess I can put down to the thirst to learn, to improve, to have an open mind with new opportunities and to be adaptable, willing to reinvent yourself along the way. Because I always get excited when opportunities come my way. I'm always thinking, how could I make the very best of these opportunities? And because they are rare. 00:43:46 Speaker 1: I look at someone with your upbringing and the country that you came from, and I sometimes think that we in Australia don't cherish our democracy and our freedoms as we should. What are your lessons for Australia? 00:44:05 Speaker 13: Oh, I value freedom above anything. For me to have gained freedom, I nearly. 00:44:11 Speaker 6: Sacrificed my life over it. 00:44:14 Speaker 13: But it was worth that sacrifice. Freedom have given me boundless opportunities and to give me such freedom to pursue my dreams, whatever I want to do in the world, in a country like Australia. So there's no excuse for young generation can't really achieve

their best and make their own contributions to our country. 00:44:42 Speaker 8: Thank you, Lee. 00:44:43 Speaker 1: Beautiful book. Can't wait to get into it. Thank you for joining me tonight. 00:44:46 Speaker 6: Thank you. 00:44:47 Speaker 1: Lee Shwing-San, you're looking for Christmas gift. There it is. Penguin Books. Get in and buy it. If it's like the first one, it'll sell out fast. He's a magnificent human being. All right, quick break. After the break, we'll get into an update. If I've got you for something on Helen Haynes and my panel, Nicole Flint and James Morrow. Welcome back. I was going to bring in my panel to run through a whole lot of other issues, but I think we'll bring in Andrew Clennell, who joins us in a moment. He's our political editor, of course, here at News24 for an update today. In relation to an incident involving the Indi independent MP, Helen Haynes, she's 65 years of age. She has been that member, first elected in 2019, re-elected in 2022. So this is her second term in parliament. It seems that she was struck by a car this afternoon in Wangaratta. That's the main... a provincial town of the seat of Indi. But as to details from that on, from then on, there's very little around. But the man who will know is my colleague, Andrew Clennell, who joins me now live on the phone. Andrew, shocking news. It broke just as I went to air and I spoke to Jess Wilson about it, of course, here at the desk. What can you tell us? 00:46:04 Speaker 8: Well, good evening, Peter. It is shocking news and it's horrifying. And look, there's no doubt in the minds tonight of the Prime Minister or Home Affairs Minister that it's a targeted attack. And the situation was Helen Haynes, the reports have been she was loading up the boot of her car outside her Wangaratta electorate office just before 4pm and a man's in an SUV. He's driven past her, seen her. These are reports that are coming in tonight, I should say. They're not verified, but and done a U-turn and targeted her. And at a nearby barber shop, it's been reported, some people there came out and restrained the man until police arrived. And he was found to have a pocket knife in his pocket. So who knows what would have happened if he wasn't restrained. But this is a significant moment in Australian political history in my book. just confirming again that senior government sources telling me this is a targeted attack, and that's what I believe the Prime Minister will talk about shortly. And you think to Joe Cox or David Amess in the UK, you think to attacks in the US, and it's finally come here. And, look, I've had Tony Burke, the Home Affairs Minister, warn that this is coming on my program. The PM's also had fears this is coming. The level of threats against politicians in this country have tripled in recent years. There's now said to be three a day. And, you know, Helen Haynes, a very nice person from my dealings with her, there are reports, again, these are just reports, that she may have lost a limb and she may be in serious strife in hospital there. Her family put out a statement a short time ago where they said that she was being cared for and their privacy be respected at this time. 00:48:02 Speaker 1: Yes, I've got the family statement here. Yeah, I've got the family statement here and it gives us very little information. It says, this afternoon our beloved Helen was involved in an incident outside her electorate office in Wangaratta receiving medical care. Thanks bystanders and others for swift assistance provided to her. They then say no further comment at this stage. I will say the Herald Sun is reporting that police are investigating the incident, Andrew. I'll leave it there if I can. We'll go now, of course, to Andrew Bolt and await this press conference scheduled for 7 o'clock involving the Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister, Tony Burke, who has carriage of the issues in relation to the security of parliamentarians and, of course, ASIO. That's it for me. See you tomorrow.