# Paul Murray Live | 22 April

An episode of [Paul Murray Live](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/376966263), 22 Apr 2026, 49 min.

Audio: https://p.podderapp.com/2544644999/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/2fb3740d-3436-44af-8cc0-a91900716aa5/be3abd48-25e5-45a6-aede-ac2a00524a12/89de7e92-58cf-465f-8e4f-b43400cbf646/audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=95971714-8fe6-4855-b1fe-ac2a00524a12

Labor accused of picking on disabled Australians, Anzac Day is not what it used to be after NSW police today announced a massive police presence. Plus, how an autonomous vehicle drove straight into the middle of a police operation. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

## Transcript

[0:00] Speaker 1: From the Sky News Center.
[0:02] Speaker 2: This is Paul Murray Live.
[0:06] Speaker 3: Well, good evening, Great to have your company. I'm James
[0:08] Speaker 3: Macpherson filling in for Paul Murray Live in the man Cave.
[0:12] Speaker 3: Is what's coming up on tonight's program. Labor accused of
[0:16] Speaker 3: picking on disabled Australians after announcing plans to reassess seven
[0:20] Speaker 3: hundred and sixty thousand people's eligibility for the ndis Anzac
[0:26] Speaker 3: Day ain't what it used to be. New South Wales
[0:28] Speaker 3: police today announced a massive police presence would be deployed
[0:32] Speaker 3: to keep people.
[0:33] Speaker 1: Safe on our nation's most sacred day.
[0:35] Speaker 3: I have to wonder what those who fought and died
[0:37] Speaker 3: for our country would think about that, and maybe we
[0:40] Speaker 3: should hit the brakes on self driving cars. I'll show
[0:43] Speaker 3: you how an autonomous vehicle drove straight into the middle
[0:46] Speaker 3: of a police operation a little later in the program.
[0:49] Speaker 3: But first, if you listen to Anthony Albanezi and Chris
[0:53] Speaker 3: Bowen today, you'd think they'd solved the fuel crisis. The
[0:57] Speaker 3: pair held a live press conference in Sydney to announce.
[1:02] Speaker 1: Well, you know what, I don't want to steal their
[1:04] Speaker 1: big moments, so I'll hand it over to the PM.
[1:08] Speaker 4: Today, I'm very pleased that Export Finance Australia has been
[1:12] Speaker 4: able to work with businesses to secure four additional cargoes
[1:19] Speaker 4: of diesel for Australia. Combined our new additional two hundred
[1:25] Speaker 4: million liters of diesel for use in Australia.
[1:30] Speaker 1: Now granted, it sounds impressive.
[1:33] Speaker 3: The PM's announcement had all the cadence of a wartime
[1:36] Speaker 3: logistics breakthrough. Four additional cargoes. Export Finance Australia working with
[1:42] Speaker 3: businesses able to secure two hundred million liters of diesel
[1:46] Speaker 3: for use in Australia. Not sure where else we'd use it,
[1:50] Speaker 3: but two hundred million liters. It lands with the satisfying
[1:53] Speaker 3: thud of a big number, the sort of number that's
[1:55] Speaker 3: meant to stop questions forming in the public mind and
[1:58] Speaker 3: replace them with applause until you realize that Australia uses
[2:04] Speaker 3: almost one hundred million liters of diesel every single day.
[2:08] Speaker 3: So what's been announced, with all the gravitas of a
[2:11] Speaker 3: moon landing, is two days worth of fuel in a
[2:15] Speaker 3: country that functions on trucks, mining, fleets, agriculture, freight, construction.
[2:19] Speaker 1: And long haul logistics.
[2:21] Speaker 3: This is less energy security strategy and more weekend topping
[2:25] Speaker 3: up exercise. Now I should point out that while two
[2:29] Speaker 3: extra days worth of diesel might not sound like much
[2:32] Speaker 3: to you, the PM's office, well, they think it's so
[2:36] Speaker 3: noteworthy they made a video to boast about it. Now
[2:47] Speaker 3: let's see that video again, but this time with more
[2:50] Speaker 3: appropriate music, much more appropriate. Energy Minister Chris Bowen was
[3:02] Speaker 3: quick to remind everyone that two days worth of fuel
[3:06] Speaker 3: announced today was on top of the work the government
[3:08] Speaker 3: had done last week.
[3:10] Speaker 5: Today we're announcing the next steps, building on the Prime
[3:13] Speaker 5: Minister's announcement from Malaysia last week that we had secured
[3:16] Speaker 5: one hundred million letters of diesel. Today another two hundred
[3:20] Speaker 5: million letters to build on that.
[3:23] Speaker 3: Okay, so let me get this straight. We had one
[3:26] Speaker 3: day's worth of extra fuel. Now we've secured two more
[3:29] Speaker 3: days of extra fuel. So we have two days of
[3:32] Speaker 3: fuel building on one day of fuel. It is technically
[3:37] Speaker 3: speaking an accumulation in much the same way a teaspoon
[3:39] Speaker 3: collects rain water in a storm.
[3:42] Speaker 1: This is extra supply to give us an extra buffer.
[3:45] Speaker 3: Forgive my cynicism, but referring to three days worth of
[3:48] Speaker 3: fuel as a buffers like carefully placing a paper towel
[3:52] Speaker 3: between yourself and a waterfall and declaring it's all good,
[3:55] Speaker 3: there's a buffer.
[3:56] Speaker 1: The PM tried a different descriptor.
[4:00] Speaker 4: Well, what we're doing is providing additional supply. That's what
[4:06] Speaker 4: there's three hundred million liders of additional supply we've achieved
[4:11] Speaker 4: in the last seven days.
[4:14] Speaker 1: Has done additional supply.
[4:16] Speaker 3: Like I said, three days of fuel ain't additional supply.
[4:20] Speaker 3: It's a weekend top up. And when you consider they
[4:23] Speaker 3: took seven days to get three days worth of fuel,
[4:27] Speaker 3: well that sounds like the opposite of progress to me.
[4:30] Speaker 3: If you do the math at the current rate, if
[4:32] Speaker 3: it took seven days to get three days worth of fuel,
[4:35] Speaker 3: it'll take us fourteen days to secure six days worth
[4:38] Speaker 3: of fuel, twenty one to secure nine days and a
[4:41] Speaker 3: month to get our hands on almost two weeks worth
[4:44] Speaker 3: of fuel. They see the problem here, don't you. But
[4:48] Speaker 3: of course, like most things with this government, it's all
[4:51] Speaker 3: in the announcement. While this government is terrible at governing,
[4:55] Speaker 3: they're actually really really good at announcing. Here's the Energy
[4:58] Speaker 3: Minister who won't lift a fe to help us drill
[5:01] Speaker 3: oil out of the ground, But you can sure make
[5:03] Speaker 3: fumes sound like manna from heaven.
[5:06] Speaker 5: So these four cargoes will come through by the last
[5:11] Speaker 5: week in May or the first week in June. Fifty
[5:14] Speaker 5: million leaders each slightly more for BP fifty two million
[5:19] Speaker 5: letters on one cargo, but a total of just over
[5:23] Speaker 5: two hundred million leaders going to Brisbane, to Geelong, to
[5:26] Speaker 5: here in Sydney and importantly to Kuanana in Perth.
[5:30] Speaker 3: Two days worth of fuel spread over four cargo ships
[5:33] Speaker 3: going to Brisbane, Geelong, Sydney and Perth is still just
[5:38] Speaker 3: two days worth of fuel.
[5:39] Speaker 1: But nice try, mister Bowen.
[5:41] Speaker 3: Now some people have accused the government of engaging in
[5:44] Speaker 3: political theater. I can't imagine where anyone got that idea.
[5:55] Speaker 3: If you stage a press conference to announce two days
[5:58] Speaker 3: of diesel with a companying social media production values and
[6:02] Speaker 3: theater is definitely involved.
[6:04] Speaker 1: So what of it?
[6:06] Speaker 3: Was it really necessary for the Prime Minister and Minister Bowen,
[6:10] Speaker 3: flanked by Minister Thistlethwaite to hold a presser announcing we
[6:14] Speaker 3: have fuel for another forty eight hours. They're actually more
[6:17] Speaker 3: ministers than there were days of fuel at the press conference.
[6:21] Speaker 4: I don't know what you think, but do you think
[6:23] Speaker 4: we should have secured an additional two hundred million leaders
[6:28] Speaker 4: that we're announcing today, do you think we should have
[6:32] Speaker 4: delivered an additional three hundred million leaders over the last
[6:37] Speaker 4: seven days?
[6:38] Speaker 3: Now, of course they were rhetorical questions, but I'm going
[6:41] Speaker 3: to bite. I think we should never have been allowed
[6:44] Speaker 3: to be in a position where we have just a
[6:47] Speaker 3: third of the fuel reserves recommended by the International Energy Agency.
[6:50] Speaker 3: I also think we should never have been in a
[6:53] Speaker 3: position where we have just two oil refineries, one of
[6:56] Speaker 3: which seems to be producing more plumes of smoke barrels
[7:00] Speaker 3: of oil.
[7:01] Speaker 1: And here's another thought.
[7:02] Speaker 3: Rather than holding a press conference to wave around a
[7:05] Speaker 3: few jerry cans like you've won a grand final, why
[7:08] Speaker 3: not hold a press conference to announce that, as a
[7:10] Speaker 3: matter of urgency, we're going to start drilling for gas
[7:13] Speaker 3: and oil right here in Australia. Or we can keep
[7:17] Speaker 3: running around Asia begging for a day's worth of fuel here,
[7:20] Speaker 3: a day's worth of fuel there, which of course will
[7:22] Speaker 3: be supplied provided we behave ourselves.
[7:27] Speaker 2: I appreciate australia stance on Gaza.
[7:29] Speaker 4: That position matters, and Militia welcomes the But back to.
[7:35] Speaker 3: The PM's position today, where he was starting to feel
[7:38] Speaker 3: a little unappreciated for the two days worth of fuel
[7:41] Speaker 3: he'd spent the better part of a week organizing.
[7:44] Speaker 4: We could be sitting back, We could be sitting back
[7:48] Speaker 4: being critical, or we could be out there working hard
[7:51] Speaker 4: in the interests of Australians. We take the second option
[7:54] Speaker 4: to be out there working hard in the interests of Australians.
[7:57] Speaker 4: And I think that you yourself would recognize unless you
[8:01] Speaker 4: want to tell us that's a bad thing what we're
[8:03] Speaker 4: announcing today, then I think it is positive going forward
[8:09] Speaker 4: the work that we've done.
[8:11] Speaker 3: Oh, it is a positive in the same way that
[8:13] Speaker 3: are drop in the ocean is a positive. At this rate,
[8:17] Speaker 3: the Prime Minister is going to need to be full
[8:19] Speaker 3: time on the road, traveling around with jerry cans begging
[8:22] Speaker 3: for fuel until the war in the Middle East is over,
[8:25] Speaker 3: and we're supposed to be impressed.
[8:27] Speaker 4: Our work continues with Ampole Park Fuels, Ior and other
[8:32] Speaker 4: fuel supplies to secure additional fuel supplies in the coming
[8:37] Speaker 4: days and weeks. What we're doing each and every day
[8:39] Speaker 4: is working in the interests of Australians.
[8:43] Speaker 3: I'm sure Anthony Albanezi is working every day. But when
[8:46] Speaker 3: a government celebrates two days of diesel as a national milestone.
[8:52] Speaker 3: They're not really talking about fuel, are they. They're talking
[8:55] Speaker 3: about vulnerability and we're getting the message loud and clear.
[8:59] Speaker 1: The PM clearly believes he deserves credit.
[9:02] Speaker 3: Didn't he get tetchy when a reporter dared to suggest
[9:05] Speaker 3: that he might want to continue the fuel excise discount,
[9:09] Speaker 3: which is scheduled to end shortly with no end of
[9:12] Speaker 3: the Middle East conflict in site.
[9:14] Speaker 4: Well, we have made the call of the fuel excise
[9:20] Speaker 4: being there until June thirty. I've made it clear that
[9:24] Speaker 4: there's a great deal of uncertainty and volatility. If you
[9:28] Speaker 4: or someone else here knows when the Middle East conflict
[9:31] Speaker 4: will end, what the consequences of it will be, what
[9:35] Speaker 4: the terms of it ending will be, then please let
[9:38] Speaker 4: us know. But if you do, you're the only ones
[9:40] Speaker 4: in the world who do. This is a volatile, turbulent
[9:45] Speaker 4: period in the world. We have been very upfront about that.
[9:50] Speaker 4: We're not trying to pretend that that isn't the case.
[9:54] Speaker 4: What we are doing, though, isn't sitting on the sidelines
[9:58] Speaker 4: hoping for the word, which is what the coalition and
[10:02] Speaker 4: the right wing parties in Australia tend to do without
[10:06] Speaker 4: coming up with any constructive suggestions.
[10:10] Speaker 1: Oh, I love that so much.
[10:11] Speaker 3: Basically, the Prime Minister stood there and said, well, if
[10:14] Speaker 3: you think you could do a better job, which is
[10:15] Speaker 3: a very dangerous question for a Prime minister to ask.
[10:19] Speaker 1: Here's what we know, Prime Minister.
[10:21] Speaker 3: We know that when the leader of our country is
[10:23] Speaker 3: boasting about having collected two days extra fuel, we are
[10:26] Speaker 3: in deep, deep trouble. We also know, at least strongly
[10:30] Speaker 3: suspect that the PM is running on empty He's as
[10:33] Speaker 3: clueless about energy policy as he is on the Middle
[10:36] Speaker 3: East conflict, all of which makes us fear that in
[10:39] Speaker 3: the not too distant future we'll all be doing a
[10:42] Speaker 3: lot of this, by which, of course I mean walking.
[10:54] Speaker 4: Well.
[10:54] Speaker 3: Joining me now is Shadow Regional Development Minister and Webster
[10:58] Speaker 3: and thanks for coming on the program.
[11:00] Speaker 1: I always enjoy our chats.
[11:02] Speaker 3: Tell me, Am, I being too cynical when it comes
[11:04] Speaker 3: to the government's handling of the fuel crisis.
[11:08] Speaker 2: No, I think you're superb Frankly, I think Australians are
[11:12] Speaker 2: being treated as mugs by the Prime Minister, and that
[11:17] Speaker 2: is incredibly unfortunate because Australians are thinking people who are
[11:22] Speaker 2: living their lives with a lot of instability, and yes,
[11:26] Speaker 2: the Iran War is happening, we all know it is.
[11:29] Speaker 2: But they've been in government for four years now. They've
[11:32] Speaker 2: had plenty of opportunity to change their direction and change
[11:36] Speaker 2: their path and they haven't. And we are on a
[11:40] Speaker 2: hiding to nowhere in terms of fuel, in terms of gas,
[11:44] Speaker 2: in terms of oil drilling and also production. So you know,
[11:51] Speaker 2: I know that christ Foley in Queensland is waiting for
[11:54] Speaker 2: that phone call from a Prime minister to say we're
[11:57] Speaker 2: right with you and we'll support you with the term.
[12:00] Speaker 2: But you know, nothing's happening.
[12:03] Speaker 3: What do you think when you watch these press conferences
[12:06] Speaker 3: where we've got the Energy Minister, we've got the Prime Minister,
[12:08] Speaker 3: we've got Matt Thistlethwaite, they're all standing there with a
[12:11] Speaker 3: grand announcement of two extra days of fuel. I mean
[12:15] Speaker 3: when you watch that, what do you think?
[12:20] Speaker 2: Well? I feel embarrassed. I don't know whether it's about think,
[12:25] Speaker 2: but I certainly feel embarrassed. This is the leadership of
[12:29] Speaker 2: our country and they're bragging about two days of fuel
[12:33] Speaker 2: or three days if you count last week as well,
[12:36] Speaker 2: so a lot more days in a month and three
[12:40] Speaker 2: So I'm hanging out for the next installment, and I
[12:45] Speaker 2: don't know the Prime Minister's got one.
[12:47] Speaker 3: Well, and I think you must be the only person
[12:49] Speaker 3: in the country who's hanging out for the next press
[12:53] Speaker 3: conference that the Prime Minister is having.
[12:55] Speaker 1: I'm sure you are being facetious. Please tell me you were.
[13:00] Speaker 3: Hey, it would cost I think twenty billion dollars over
[13:03] Speaker 3: four years to make sure we've got the recommended ninety
[13:08] Speaker 3: day's worth of fuel reserves. What's that five billion dollars
[13:13] Speaker 3: a year over four years. Can you understand why the
[13:16] Speaker 3: government has not announced already that they will do that.
[13:22] Speaker 2: Well, fundamentally, they're really opposed ideologically. They are posed to
[13:27] Speaker 2: fossil fuels. We know that by their green dream. And
[13:31] Speaker 2: Chris Bowen was on his left on my screen and
[13:36] Speaker 2: standing there frankly looking embarrassed himself. I thought I was
[13:39] Speaker 2: watching his face. And so they're posed ideologically to fossil fuels.
[13:46] Speaker 2: But they've also got a very bad budget coming up
[13:50] Speaker 2: and things are not looking any better any sooner. So
[13:54] Speaker 2: inflation continues to rise. There is, you know, an expectation
[13:58] Speaker 2: we'll have another rate rise soon. And what have they
[14:02] Speaker 2: got to show for it? They're trying to cut back
[14:04] Speaker 2: on everything including NDIS and age care and the things
[14:08] Speaker 2: that they would prefer to be putting a lot more
[14:10] Speaker 2: money into. And I don't think they have the answers.
[14:13] Speaker 2: I think you said it perfectly when you said they're
[14:15] Speaker 2: very good with the headlines, and I agree with you.
[14:18] Speaker 2: Labor are very good with their marketing and their headlines.
[14:21] Speaker 2: They're really bad at governing Australia. And I wish Australians
[14:26] Speaker 2: would understand that.
[14:27] Speaker 3: If we could have a government that would govern like
[14:30] Speaker 3: the Coalition would, but advertise like Labor do, I reckon
[14:34] Speaker 3: we'd be doing okay. Immigration Minister Tony Burke told SBS
[14:38] Speaker 3: today that he doesn't want migrants who come to Australia
[14:42] Speaker 3: to assimilate.
[14:44] Speaker 1: You heard me correctly.
[14:45] Speaker 3: He doesn't want migrants to assimilate, no assimilation. I found
[14:49] Speaker 3: that absolutely astonishing have listened to his remarks.
[14:53] Speaker 6: I've never accepted the word assimilation. I don't want people
[14:55] Speaker 6: to lose who they are. The word integration is one
[14:58] Speaker 6: that's being used as part of a multicultural dialogue for
[15:02] Speaker 6: a very long time, and that's what it is, like want,
[15:06] Speaker 6: we want people for who they are. I've never subscribed
[15:10] Speaker 6: to that sort of melting pot concept that your whole
[15:13] Speaker 6: identity is meant to be dissolved.
[15:16] Speaker 3: And if migrants don't assimilate into Australian culture, what do
[15:19] Speaker 3: they integrate into a welfare system, an economic system.
[15:23] Speaker 1: Tony Birk's vision.
[15:25] Speaker 3: If you run it to its logical conclusion, results in
[15:28] Speaker 3: dozens of different cultures that share nothing more than roads
[15:32] Speaker 3: and infrastructure. That's not a country, that's a sharehouse.
[15:37] Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely true, well said again. I went through university
[15:43] Speaker 2: as a social work training and sociology training before I
[15:49] Speaker 2: did my PhD in sociology. The multiculturalism concept, the concept
[15:55] Speaker 2: around integration was I want to say, ham it into
[15:59] Speaker 2: us was the only one that was acceptable at university.
[16:04] Speaker 2: That's problematic in itself and a conversation for another day.
[16:07] Speaker 2: Assimilation was perceived in those environments at university to be
[16:14] Speaker 2: saying to people, will you just have to take off
[16:16] Speaker 2: all the color and life of who you are, come
[16:19] Speaker 2: to Australia and put it all away, forget where you
[16:23] Speaker 2: came from and become Australian when you really don't know
[16:28] Speaker 2: what Australian is. I think that when we look back
[16:32] Speaker 2: on the Italians and the Greeks, you know, those in
[16:35] Speaker 2: the fifties and sixties who came here, and there are
[16:37] Speaker 2: a lot in my elector. They came here because they
[16:41] Speaker 2: wanted and embraced what Australia was. It was a free country,
[16:47] Speaker 2: It had democratic values. People were free to have their religion,
[16:51] Speaker 2: for sure, but it's a peaceful place. It was a
[16:54] Speaker 2: place where a place where they could live and let
[16:59] Speaker 2: live in many respects. And I think what we've got
[17:03] Speaker 2: now is Burke is implying to me that he's afraid
[17:08] Speaker 2: to say those dreadful words Islamic extremism, Like it's really
[17:14] Speaker 2: just pre Bondai all over again. And it's a failure
[17:17] Speaker 2: to say that certain things are unacceptable here. Antisemitism is
[17:22] Speaker 2: unacceptable here, and they've got to be things that are
[17:26] Speaker 2: stated very clearly upfront. You want to come to Australia,
[17:30] Speaker 2: then those particular beliefs of extremism, anti semitism, violence, no
[17:37] Speaker 2: sense of equality between men and women, all the things
[17:41] Speaker 2: that we enjoy in Australia, then you've got to you know,
[17:47] Speaker 2: you shouldn't come if you can't accept those things.
[17:50] Speaker 3: It's funny talking about that because Andrew Lee, another government minister,
[17:53] Speaker 3: he tweeted today walking away from a non discrimination. Immigration
[17:58] Speaker 3: policy isn't strength, it's in security. But I mean, you
[18:04] Speaker 3: discriminate who you allow into your own home. Why wouldn't
[18:07] Speaker 3: you discriminate who you allow into your country.
[18:09] Speaker 1: That's not in security. That's just wisdom, is it not.
[18:15] Speaker 2: I absolutely agree with you, and in fact I have
[18:17] Speaker 2: the same views regarding my social platforms. I view them
[18:22] Speaker 2: as effectively people coming into my space and if you
[18:27] Speaker 2: behave nicely, if you behave respectfully, you can stay. But
[18:31] Speaker 2: if you don't, see ya bye. And I think that
[18:34] Speaker 2: we have a right, whether it's in our own home
[18:37] Speaker 2: or whether it's our country. If we don't stick up
[18:40] Speaker 2: for who we are, if we don't value and lift
[18:46] Speaker 2: who we are as Australians, then you know who's going
[18:49] Speaker 2: to do it. Nobody is, and we will be overrun
[18:52] Speaker 2: by other cultures. And it's not to say we don't
[18:55] Speaker 2: learn from those cultures. Frankly, if we didn't have the Italians,
[18:58] Speaker 2: where would our coffee be? I don't know, you know,
[19:02] Speaker 2: and so many other cultures that come to Australia and
[19:05] Speaker 2: have made Australia richer. Nobody is saying that that's not true.
[19:10] Speaker 2: But we must uphold the values that we have as Australians.
[19:14] Speaker 3: Yeah, absolutely, all right, I want to talk to you
[19:16] Speaker 3: about the Pharaoh by election. It's just seventeen days away
[19:20] Speaker 3: and I guess will be a litmus test to see
[19:22] Speaker 3: where the major parties are at, because I mean the
[19:25] Speaker 3: polling is just fascinating at the moment. I guess we're
[19:28] Speaker 3: all trying to wait to see where the chips fall.
[19:32] Speaker 3: You were in Aubrey today, what's the feeling there on
[19:34] Speaker 3: the ground.
[19:37] Speaker 2: Oh, look, the people that we speak to and you know,
[19:40] Speaker 2: health is it's in my portfolio, Regional shadow Regional Health Minister.
[19:46] Speaker 2: So the hospital situation at aubrey Wodonga is a massive issue,
[19:51] Speaker 2: not just for Aubrey Wodonga but for the surrounding area.
[19:55] Speaker 2: Labor governments at state and federal level have absolutely let
[19:59] Speaker 2: them down, there is no two ways about it. And
[20:04] Speaker 2: water is a major issue and understanding that you approach
[20:11] Speaker 2: the people of aubrew Wodonga and surrounds with those issues
[20:16] Speaker 2: front of mind. Now, I'm fully aware of the pols.
[20:21] Speaker 2: We're all aware of the poles and we like to
[20:24] Speaker 2: say it's only one pole election day that actually counts,
[20:27] Speaker 2: but the fact of the matter is that you know,
[20:31] Speaker 2: one nation and the Independent certainly high on people's agenda,
[20:37] Speaker 2: and I think that that comes down to their frustration,
[20:40] Speaker 2: their flat out anger at how Labor have been treating
[20:45] Speaker 2: them over the last four years. They feel frustrated. We
[20:48] Speaker 2: had COVID. My first parliament, we had COVID. It was
[20:54] Speaker 2: not a pretty time. It was an ugly time, and
[20:56] Speaker 2: plenty of people who got PTSD from it, one of
[21:00] Speaker 2: them myself. But the fact is that the Coalition had
[21:05] Speaker 2: a tough time trying to manage the economy, trying to
[21:08] Speaker 2: imagine manage people's lockdowns, the state's behaviors, the overreach in
[21:14] Speaker 2: Victoria was appalling. Another subject for another day, And you know,
[21:18] Speaker 2: so they're angry. People are angry, and I can understand
[21:22] Speaker 2: that protest vote to one nation or two a teal,
[21:26] Speaker 2: But the fact of the matter is that the Coalition
[21:30] Speaker 2: and Labor are the governing governments. They're the ones who've
[21:33] Speaker 2: got the experience on the ground, and the Coalition is
[21:36] Speaker 2: turning around from a difficult, you know, year or two.
[21:41] Speaker 2: And I believe particularly the nationals best represent our regional
[21:46] Speaker 2: areas and people are warm, they're friendly about that. But
[21:52] Speaker 2: there's also a lot of movement to one nation in particular,
[21:56] Speaker 2: I think right just.
[21:57] Speaker 3: Before we go to a breaker, I want to get
[22:00] Speaker 3: quick comment from you regarding Health Minister Matt Butler's speech
[22:04] Speaker 3: at the Press Club today announcing seven hundred and sixty
[22:07] Speaker 3: thousand people currently accessing the NDIS we'll all have their
[22:11] Speaker 3: eligibility reassessed by the start of twenty twenty eight in
[22:14] Speaker 3: a bid to reduce the number of partakers and the
[22:17] Speaker 3: amount of money being spent.
[22:19] Speaker 1: Just briefly, what were your thoughts.
[22:22] Speaker 3: Did you like what he said and do you think
[22:24] Speaker 3: Labor have got the courage to actually make the hard decisions.
[22:29] Speaker 2: Well, it's a start, isn't it. These are people's lives.
[22:33] Speaker 2: Let's state that right up front. There are seven hundred
[22:36] Speaker 2: and sixty thousand people whose lives are somewhat dependent on
[22:40] Speaker 2: the NDIS, all to different degrees, but there are many
[22:46] Speaker 2: arguably that perhaps could be better in a different program.
[22:50] Speaker 2: That's for the Labor government to sort out. Because they
[22:53] Speaker 2: open the doors wide on this. It is their failure.
[22:58] Speaker 2: But I absolutely believe the Coalition has come out and
[23:01] Speaker 2: said today James that roughts and mismanagement are also a
[23:08] Speaker 2: key part of the problem. I've said all along. My
[23:11] Speaker 2: personal view is every provider should be registered every provider,
[23:16] Speaker 2: not six percent of providers, which is what is the
[23:19] Speaker 2: case right now. The system needs to change because it
[23:23] Speaker 2: is taxpayers are paying for it, and it must have
[23:28] Speaker 2: outcomes that work, work for the individuals, but also work
[23:33] Speaker 2: for Australia's tax system. There are only so many dollars
[23:37] Speaker 2: to go round.
[23:38] Speaker 3: Yep, absolutely, and Webster, it's always a delight to chat.
[23:41] Speaker 3: Thanks so much for coming on the program tonight. All right,
[23:44] Speaker 3: coming up after the break on the same day, and
[23:46] Speaker 3: the Obnezi is celebrating the arrival of diesel tankers. The
[23:50] Speaker 3: UN Secretary General is urging us to reject fossil fuels.
[23:54] Speaker 3: Talk about awkward and New South Wales Police announce a
[23:57] Speaker 3: massive presence at Anzac ceremonies, including officers equipped with military
[24:02] Speaker 3: style weapons. What has our country come to? Stephen Conroy
[24:05] Speaker 3: and Lucy Zeliz join me next well, welcome back to
[24:12] Speaker 3: the program. New South Wales Police have announced unprecedented security
[24:16] Speaker 3: measures to keep us safe as we commemorate Anzac Day
[24:20] Speaker 3: at the weekend, which begs the question keep us safe
[24:23] Speaker 3: from what or from whom? Anzac Day, for all its significance,
[24:27] Speaker 3: has not historically required anything beyond reverence and silence. But
[24:31] Speaker 3: this year things will be very different. Have listened to
[24:34] Speaker 3: Commissioner mel Lanyon on two GB this morning.
[24:39] Speaker 7: We'll have a significant policing presence. We've got over four
[24:41] Speaker 7: hundred and fifty additional police on an operation to make
[24:44] Speaker 7: sure the community feels safe and are safe. There will
[24:47] Speaker 7: be a significant and high visibility policing.
[24:49] Speaker 1: Presence, okay, and then he added this.
[24:53] Speaker 7: We've given approval for our police to carry long arms
[24:56] Speaker 7: where it's appropriate.
[24:58] Speaker 3: Now, the Commissioner was at pains to point there's no
[25:00] Speaker 3: specific threat, which is comforting, but let's not be naive.
[25:05] Speaker 3: Four hundred and fifty extra police, many of them patrolling
[25:07] Speaker 3: with rifles.
[25:09] Speaker 1: But it's not a pr exercise.
[25:11] Speaker 7: It's a matter of reassurance. There is no specific threat
[25:15] Speaker 7: to any activity, and I want to make that clear
[25:17] Speaker 7: that we want the community to feel safe to come
[25:19] Speaker 7: to these events. This will be a matter of reassurance.
[25:21] Speaker 7: It's showing the public that we're taking it seriously and
[25:24] Speaker 7: we're there to prevent any crime.
[25:26] Speaker 3: Joining me now is former Labor Senator Stephen Conroy and
[25:29] Speaker 3: broadcaster Lucy Zelich.
[25:30] Speaker 1: Welcome to you both.
[25:32] Speaker 3: Lucy, did you ever imagine we would need police patrolling
[25:35] Speaker 3: with military style weapons to keep us safe in our
[25:38] Speaker 3: own country celebrating what is probably our own country's most
[25:42] Speaker 3: important day.
[25:43] Speaker 8: It's the most significant day. And I think in light
[25:45] Speaker 8: of what we've seen, the events that have unfolded over
[25:47] Speaker 8: the past few weeks. With respect to Ben Robert Smith,
[25:50] Speaker 8: I know that that's a separate shoe. But this Anzac
[25:52] Speaker 8: Day now, in the context of all of these, feels.
[25:55] Speaker 2: Very different, doesn't it.
[25:56] Speaker 8: And it's and I've made this point already publicly, it's
[25:58] Speaker 8: not a good different Knowing now that we are going
[26:01] Speaker 8: into this significant day with four hundred and fifty extra
[26:04] Speaker 8: police officers and long arms and this presence hanging over
[26:08] Speaker 8: us in the wake of what unfolded at BONDI it's
[26:11] Speaker 8: just so upsetting that we're at this point as a nation,
[26:14] Speaker 8: just before.
[26:14] Speaker 1: I bring Stephen and you say, it feels different, feels different.
[26:18] Speaker 8: How it's not a good difference, And again I go
[26:20] Speaker 8: back to the point that I made about Ben Robert Smith.
[26:22] Speaker 8: I've been in contact a lot with veterans, with those
[26:25] Speaker 8: that are current serving members who don't feel happy about
[26:28] Speaker 8: the fact that they are they are being used as pawns,
[26:32] Speaker 8: right that in one particular breath, politicians are very happy
[26:36] Speaker 8: to acknowledge their service, to commemorate them and signify just
[26:40] Speaker 8: how important this day is. But then in another we're
[26:42] Speaker 8: seeing the homes of soldiers being raided, serious allegations about
[26:47] Speaker 8: how we've been treating our soldiers and the treatment of
[26:50] Speaker 8: them after they've come back as decorated war heroes. It
[26:53] Speaker 8: doesn't sit well with Australians at all, James, and that's
[26:56] Speaker 8: important to remember in the context of all of this,
[26:59] Speaker 8: and it's time for us and you look at what's
[27:02] Speaker 8: unfolding now again, as I said, with this extra police presence,
[27:06] Speaker 8: all it does is make you think, why did we
[27:08] Speaker 8: send these men to foreign nations to fight for us?
[27:11] Speaker 8: I dare say many of them would be rolling in
[27:13] Speaker 8: their graves to acknowledge that we're now in a situation
[27:16] Speaker 8: where because of our policies and the fact that we've
[27:18] Speaker 8: got intelligence agencies like Azio babysitting over two hundred people
[27:22] Speaker 8: to try and deradicalize them.
[27:24] Speaker 1: Is this what they fought for? James Stephen, what do
[27:27] Speaker 1: you think?
[27:28] Speaker 3: What does it say about our country that we now
[27:30] Speaker 3: need these sort of measures just to keep us safe?
[27:34] Speaker 3: Or as the Police Commissioner said to reassure us on
[27:37] Speaker 3: ANZAC Day.
[27:40] Speaker 9: Look, I think it's very sad. I think Australians should
[27:44] Speaker 9: be able to assemble, especially on Anzac Day, but there's
[27:48] Speaker 9: a range of other celebrations that may have to have
[27:54] Speaker 9: the same sort of security levels. It is sad. I
[27:57] Speaker 9: think all Australians would want to see an absolutely peaceful
[28:02] Speaker 9: march around the country. The ceremonies that many Australians attend
[28:11] Speaker 9: early in the morning, all across the country, regional strats,
[28:15] Speaker 9: small towns. Just the prospect of having to have such
[28:20] Speaker 9: a large security presence. I mean, you saw the unfortunate circumstances.
[28:26] Speaker 9: I think there's legal action underway, so I don't want
[28:30] Speaker 9: to come in touch. But in Perth where somebody decided
[28:33] Speaker 9: they wanted to cause trouble, I'll just be polite with
[28:40] Speaker 9: that rally. Whether you agreed or disagree with the purpose
[28:42] Speaker 9: of the rally. I think it's a terribly sad state
[28:46] Speaker 9: we're in at the moment. I wish it was different.
[28:49] Speaker 3: Well, there was that, and then of course there was
[28:51] Speaker 3: also BONDI just back to you, Stephen for a second.
[28:55] Speaker 1: If we all.
[28:56] Speaker 3: Agree the country's changed that sort of begs the question,
[29:00] Speaker 3: but what changed?
[29:05] Speaker 9: Look, I think that I don't agree with Loose's points
[29:12] Speaker 9: around what causes specific change. I don't want to be
[29:16] Speaker 9: arguing about another ongoing legal issue. I think counsel to
[29:20] Speaker 9: try and restrain commentary and that the court processes be
[29:24] Speaker 9: the court processes.
[29:25] Speaker 1: That is, because he's been treated.
[29:27] Speaker 8: He's been treated very fairly by our politicians and by
[29:30] Speaker 8: the media, hasn't he, Stephen, He's been granted the full
[29:34] Speaker 8: legal access to a fair trial. What points of mine
[29:37] Speaker 8: don't you disagree with?
[29:40] Speaker 9: I don't agree with you that that that issue by
[29:44] Speaker 9: itself is what's caused.
[29:45] Speaker 8: I didn't say. I didn't say that that was the
[29:48] Speaker 8: issue by itself. Have you spoken to veterans? Have you
[29:51] Speaker 8: spoken to current serving members of our Australian Defense Force
[29:55] Speaker 8: who feel like a they want to handback their medals,
[29:58] Speaker 8: who be don't feel like they are respected and appreciated
[30:02] Speaker 8: by the Australian government. I'm just curious what your points
[30:05] Speaker 8: are that you disagree with me.
[30:07] Speaker 9: Unlike you, Unlike you, I'm not going to start speculating
[30:13] Speaker 9: a fair trial is necessary and all the speculation simply
[30:17] Speaker 9: poisons the future jury.
[30:19] Speaker 8: Select No, because it hasn't been poisoned.
[30:21] Speaker 2: Ready, Ready, let me get.
[30:24] Speaker 3: This away from me a second, get this away from
[30:28] Speaker 3: Smith and let's go back to Jamsac day exactly. The
[30:31] Speaker 3: thing that concerns me here is when police say we
[30:35] Speaker 3: want to reassure the public and to reassure you, we're
[30:38] Speaker 3: going to have police with long arm weapons. That doesn't
[30:41] Speaker 3: reassure me. That just makes me think what the heck
[30:44] Speaker 3: is going on with this place? And I guess back
[30:46] Speaker 3: to my question, Stephen, what do you think has changed
[30:50] Speaker 3: in our nation over the last ten to fifteen years?
[30:54] Speaker 9: Well, I think you just got to look at BONDI
[30:55] Speaker 9: I don't need to go back ten or fifteen years.
[30:58] Speaker 9: I think that has fundamental We struck accord in Australia
[31:03] Speaker 9: that we have this extraordinary barbarism where people just going
[31:10] Speaker 9: about a religious celebration were butchered on Bond. I think
[31:16] Speaker 9: that has led to a situation where police and governments
[31:21] Speaker 9: have been criticized and not being prepared, and there have
[31:25] Speaker 9: been demands that there has to be more preparedness. And
[31:28] Speaker 9: I think the new South Wales Police are simply responding
[31:32] Speaker 9: to public concern that the police need to be able
[31:38] Speaker 9: to respond quickly if a circumstance arises like I'm sure
[31:44] Speaker 9: all three of us would hope and pray that there
[31:48] Speaker 9: is nothing unto war. That we celebrate our ANZACs, we
[31:53] Speaker 9: celebrate what they gave to this country, and we just
[31:59] Speaker 9: enjoy the day.
[32:00] Speaker 1: Absolutely. I think we can all agree on that, all right,
[32:03] Speaker 1: I want to move on to a couple of other topics.
[32:04] Speaker 3: As I said at the top of the show, two
[32:06] Speaker 3: hundred million liters of diesel heading our way is the
[32:10] Speaker 3: PM earlier today.
[32:12] Speaker 4: Today, I'm very pleased that Export Finance Australia has been
[32:17] Speaker 4: able to work with businesses to secure four additional cargoes
[32:23] Speaker 4: of diesel for Australia. Combined our new additional two hundred
[32:29] Speaker 4: million liters of diesel for use in Australia.
[32:34] Speaker 1: Here's what I found intriguing.
[32:36] Speaker 3: Well, the Prime Minister was celebrating the arrival of diesel.
[32:39] Speaker 3: UN Secretary General Antonio Gutres was suggesting we should turn
[32:43] Speaker 3: the fuel tankers away.
[32:46] Speaker 10: Nurse day, we are reminded of the fragility of our
[32:49] Speaker 10: natural world. Every indicator is flashing growth, climate, Kao's collapsing biodiversity,
[32:57] Speaker 10: the one point five degree limit, sleeping of rich We
[33:01] Speaker 10: know what must be done. And though addiction to fossil fuel.
[33:06] Speaker 3: Lucy, is it appropriate to be celebrating two hundred million
[33:09] Speaker 3: leaders of diesel on Earth Day?
[33:12] Speaker 8: I mean, I just want to break this down. So
[33:14] Speaker 8: Australia consumes approximately we're talking about one hundred and sixty
[33:17] Speaker 8: point eight million leaders of all fuel types, that's petrol,
[33:21] Speaker 8: diesel and jet fuel. Right every twenty four hours of
[33:25] Speaker 8: that diesel usage is approximately ninety to ninety two million
[33:29] Speaker 8: leaders a day. So, as you have aptly already put repeatedly,
[33:32] Speaker 8: that works out to be two point two days of fuel.
[33:35] Speaker 8: Are we I'm just confused. Are we supposed to be
[33:37] Speaker 8: celebrating this? I mean, I'm sure that Labour's public relations
[33:41] Speaker 8: manager over there, Stephen Conroy, will do a far better
[33:44] Speaker 8: job of trying to dress this up. But good luck
[33:46] Speaker 8: to you, because the Australian people, my friend, we are
[33:49] Speaker 8: sitting back and looking at this and saying absolutely spare
[33:53] Speaker 8: us please, because this is not worth the press release
[33:55] Speaker 8: that it's written on.
[33:56] Speaker 1: Steven, did you enjoy the press conference?
[34:00] Speaker 4: Yeah?
[34:00] Speaker 9: Look, I think it's sad that conservative commentators across the
[34:04] Speaker 9: country are trying to create fear in the Australian public
[34:08] Speaker 9: the government is doing everything possible to ensure that we
[34:12] Speaker 9: don't need to move.
[34:13] Speaker 8: Fear or fact don't mean a fact, Stephen, Don't we trying.
[34:17] Speaker 9: To don't move towards rationing. That's exactly what it is.
[34:22] Speaker 9: Constantly trying to suggest that we're running out of fuel,
[34:25] Speaker 9: constantly trying to say that the government has been ill prepared,
[34:29] Speaker 9: ill advisement. Donald Trump is a raving lunatic. No one
[34:32] Speaker 9: knows what he's going to say on a given day.
[34:34] Speaker 9: You cannot plan being.
[34:36] Speaker 8: Over well prepared to face a crisis like this.
[34:41] Speaker 9: Yes, since twenty since twenty fourteen, when the Tony Abbott
[34:45] Speaker 9: government will let's.
[34:46] Speaker 8: Blame our predecess all we've got in our assom speak.
[34:51] Speaker 9: I'm terribly sorry, Lucy, I'm terribly sorry. But in twenty fourteen,
[34:56] Speaker 9: a very sensible report made a very sensible recommendation which
[35:01] Speaker 9: was to have ninety days, very sensible and unfortunately, over
[35:07] Speaker 9: the last ten years or so, that has not been
[35:11] Speaker 9: achieved or even really attempted to be achieved. And that
[35:16] Speaker 9: is the root cause. We've now got less refining capacity
[35:20] Speaker 9: because of this, and I fully support they're being increased
[35:23] Speaker 9: refining capacity. I've always been on that side of this argument.
[35:28] Speaker 9: We need to given the changed world circumstances as we
[35:33] Speaker 9: go through the transition. The transition isn't going to suddenly
[35:36] Speaker 9: power up diesel, so we're going to need fuel. So
[35:41] Speaker 9: we should, where possible, ensure that we have the supplies,
[35:45] Speaker 9: that we have the refining capacity, and where we can
[35:48] Speaker 9: easily find it, we should get it out of our
[35:51] Speaker 9: own natural resources. Let me just find it here, store
[35:56] Speaker 9: it here, and use it.
[35:58] Speaker 3: Let me address something you said there, Steve, because you
[36:00] Speaker 3: talked about conservatives stirring up fear that we're going to
[36:03] Speaker 3: have to have fuel rationing. And I think part of
[36:07] Speaker 3: the fear comes from the fact that when the government
[36:10] Speaker 3: celebrate we've got two extra days of fuel, doesn't that
[36:14] Speaker 3: suggest that things are dire? If we're going to hold
[36:17] Speaker 3: a press conference to say we've got two more days,
[36:20] Speaker 3: that would suggest that things. I think the government creates
[36:24] Speaker 3: fear by making a big deal out of what doesn't
[36:27] Speaker 3: seem to be very much supply coming into the country.
[36:30] Speaker 8: Yes, and also another way that you can generate fear
[36:34] Speaker 8: is perform a national address where we're all panicking and
[36:38] Speaker 8: thinking what is he going to say on that day,
[36:41] Speaker 8: only to have said absolutely nothing. I mean, you can't
[36:43] Speaker 8: say in one breath this government is doing everything that
[36:46] Speaker 8: they can and then point to the fact that they too,
[36:48] Speaker 8: in the last four years, have failed to address the
[36:51] Speaker 8: fact that we need to under the International Energy Agency,
[36:54] Speaker 8: have at least a ninety day fuel reserve. So it's
[36:57] Speaker 8: very frustrating to sit here and to constantly be pointing
[37:00] Speaker 8: to predecessors and coalition governments who, by the way, have
[37:03] Speaker 8: also failed on this front. We're not shying away or
[37:06] Speaker 8: resiling away from that, but at some point you also
[37:09] Speaker 8: need to acknowledge this government's been in power for the
[37:11] Speaker 8: last four years and this constant green scheme dream is
[37:15] Speaker 8: what's ruining us and why it's put us in a
[37:17] Speaker 8: situation where our sovereign capability stinks.
[37:20] Speaker 3: Stephen, just before we move on to another topic, the
[37:23] Speaker 3: UN Secretary General today, of all days, saying we need
[37:26] Speaker 3: to reject fossil fuels, how do you think that message
[37:30] Speaker 3: is going down these days?
[37:33] Speaker 9: Look, I think that he's got no sense of the
[37:36] Speaker 9: change world circumstances to try and suggest that we do
[37:41] Speaker 9: not need, want and have to supply our economy. And
[37:47] Speaker 9: I thought you described it very well in terms of
[37:49] Speaker 9: all the different parts of our economy that run on diesel.
[37:54] Speaker 9: So to make any sort of suggestion that we shouldn't
[37:57] Speaker 9: be scouring our region, starring the world to get as
[38:02] Speaker 9: much into a country as we can is just a joke.
[38:07] Speaker 9: And he's just got no sense of what's going on
[38:10] Speaker 9: in the actual world for him to be as naive
[38:12] Speaker 9: to say those things in the current circumstance.
[38:16] Speaker 3: All right, while we're talking about diesel and vehicles, weimo
[38:20] Speaker 3: they manufacture self driving cars and they want to introduce
[38:23] Speaker 3: the technology here in Australia, though I'm not sure we
[38:27] Speaker 3: should be too quick to embrace it, not after what's
[38:29] Speaker 3: happening with these cars in the United States.
[38:31] Speaker 1: Have a look at this.
[38:32] Speaker 3: It's a self driving car driving straight into an intersection
[38:35] Speaker 3: where police are very clearly engaged in a confrontation with
[38:39] Speaker 3: a suspect who's lying prone on the ground.
[38:41] Speaker 1: Have a look.
[38:44] Speaker 11: Oh my god, Oh my god, what WEMO doing.
[39:01] Speaker 3: What I love about that video is even the suspect
[39:03] Speaker 3: lying on.
[39:03] Speaker 1: The ground, it looks up like, what the hell with
[39:06] Speaker 1: this car? What second? I forgot he was being arrested
[39:09] Speaker 1: and it was all about this car. Here are you?
[39:13] Speaker 1: Are you an early adapter of technology? Or a late adaptor.
[39:16] Speaker 8: No, no, give me an internal combustion engine vehicle any day.
[39:19] Speaker 8: Nineteen sixty seven Mustang Fastback. That is my dream car.
[39:22] Speaker 8: It will remain as my dream car. And if you
[39:25] Speaker 8: ever catch me driving an electric vehicle, I've lost my mind.
[39:29] Speaker 8: Please seek help on my behalf.
[39:31] Speaker 3: I wouldn't mind an electric vehicle if I'm driving it.
[39:34] Speaker 1: But what do you think about these self driving cars? Even?
[39:36] Speaker 3: Are you either sort of person who'd buy words straight
[39:39] Speaker 3: off the lot or you'd wait till.
[39:43] Speaker 8: No.
[39:44] Speaker 9: I first experienced that particular form of transport in San
[39:48] Speaker 9: Francisco a couple of years ago, and I sort of
[39:50] Speaker 9: vote work looking, and then I was actually driving out
[39:53] Speaker 9: in a drivered taxi to San Francisco Airport and this
[39:59] Speaker 9: one just came belting along the outside lane, flew past us,
[40:06] Speaker 9: and you could not get me into one. Yet, I'll
[40:09] Speaker 9: want to see a lot more testing and mining those
[40:14] Speaker 9: glitches out if we can be kind, before you'll convince
[40:18] Speaker 9: me to get in one of those.
[40:19] Speaker 3: I am absolutely with both of you on that. We
[40:22] Speaker 3: end on a unity ticket.
[40:23] Speaker 1: What a great way to finish our segments.
[40:26] Speaker 3: Thank you to both of you for joining me. Really
[40:28] Speaker 3: appreciate it all right, We're going to go to a break.
[40:30] Speaker 3: Here's what's coming up after the break. It's that time
[40:33] Speaker 3: of the week where we chat to our good mate
[40:34] Speaker 3: Colem Flynn, who tonight is going to show us the
[40:37] Speaker 3: ultimate MANSHD. Don't go anywhere, Welcome back to the program.
[40:47] Speaker 3: It's that time of the week where we chat to
[40:49] Speaker 3: our mate Colem Flynn, who is in Ireland at the
[40:51] Speaker 3: moment and has got a great story of the ultimate
[40:55] Speaker 3: man Shed. Calm, thanks for joining me on the program.
[40:58] Speaker 3: Are you in a MANSHD or a nightclub?
[41:01] Speaker 2: Sorry?
[41:01] Speaker 11: James, good to see you. How are you doing? This
[41:05] Speaker 11: is what your technicians asked me as soon as I
[41:07] Speaker 11: connected this that are you in a barroer nightclub? I mean,
[41:10] Speaker 11: look at this, the disco light rig, the mirror ball,
[41:13] Speaker 11: the smoke machine, the large HD screen. We normally have
[41:17] Speaker 11: the football on, but we've got Sky News playing in
[41:19] Speaker 11: the background. You don't believe it or not, I'm not
[41:22] Speaker 11: in a a bar, I'm not in a late nightclub.
[41:26] Speaker 11: I am in my dad's work shed that he built
[41:29] Speaker 11: ten years ago. And you know, James, we often hear
[41:31] Speaker 11: people talking about the man shed. They have become so
[41:34] Speaker 11: popular over the past couple of years, a place where
[41:37] Speaker 11: people can go, get out of the house, maybe get
[41:39] Speaker 11: away from the wife for a little while, a bit
[41:40] Speaker 11: of piece and quiet or whatever. And this is what
[41:43] Speaker 11: my dad did a number of years ago, he said,
[41:45] Speaker 11: because he is a sheep metal worker. He works with
[41:48] Speaker 11: ventilation and stainless steel and everything to do with metal.
[41:51] Speaker 11: And he told my mommy convinced her that he wanted
[41:54] Speaker 11: to build a shed out the back that he could
[41:56] Speaker 11: continue to do his work in after he retired. Now,
[42:00] Speaker 11: look at what we've got here behind me.
[42:01] Speaker 3: Does this look like a workshet to you, James, It
[42:04] Speaker 3: certainly does not. It doesn't look like much work is
[42:06] Speaker 3: going on there at all.
[42:09] Speaker 11: Well, the amazing thing is I'm sitting here at the
[42:11] Speaker 11: bar with the camera looking out at the dance floor
[42:15] Speaker 11: and the disco lights and the big screen. And there's
[42:17] Speaker 11: two modes to this place. You have for the younger generation,
[42:20] Speaker 11: this kind of setup where it can play great music.
[42:23] Speaker 11: And I had my eighteen birthday in here. And the
[42:26] Speaker 11: thing that's really cool about this place you can see
[42:28] Speaker 11: on the screen is you can imagine how popular I
[42:30] Speaker 11: was in school, James, when you know we would get
[42:33] Speaker 11: kicked out of a bar in town, or maybe the
[42:35] Speaker 11: bar would close and everyone would say in the school,
[42:38] Speaker 11: all right back to column shed. So we would come
[42:40] Speaker 11: back here and we would dance the night away. But
[42:43] Speaker 11: then my dad likes it when you change things up
[42:46] Speaker 11: a bit and you turn off the disco lights, you
[42:48] Speaker 11: put down the lights a bit, and you have kind
[42:51] Speaker 11: of an old cozy Irish pub. And he was out
[42:54] Speaker 11: here last night having a pint of guinness. I was
[42:56] Speaker 11: actually going to bring him on live today, but knowing
[42:59] Speaker 11: my died, he is liable to say anything live on television,
[43:03] Speaker 11: so I didn't want to do that to the Australian
[43:05] Speaker 11: people or of the Sky News lawyers. So I recorded
[43:07] Speaker 11: this quick piece with him. This was just last night,
[43:10] Speaker 11: my dad here in what is called the Watfield Bar.
[43:18] Speaker 3: Come on and job, time to be getting your pit boots.
[43:27] Speaker 12: Well, we built a shed back in the late nineties.
[43:31] Speaker 12: Gradually and we're supposed to be a work cread don't
[43:37] Speaker 12: tell ourself. We developed into a bar recreation room. We
[43:42] Speaker 12: have all a load of whiskeys, the whiskey rooms, brandy, poor.
[43:47] Speaker 11: Guinness and so was it meant to be a workshed?
[43:50] Speaker 12: Originally it was meant to be a workshed, but I
[43:53] Speaker 12: never ever retired. I just had it.
[43:57] Speaker 1: I macan to a bar.
[43:58] Speaker 6: What does man think of shed?
[44:01] Speaker 12: Well, well, she's not allowed very often. I point to
[44:05] Speaker 12: wish everyone in Australia sky us us shy when they
[44:10] Speaker 12: come trive and be a posit to the what field bar.
[44:20] Speaker 1: Com just off the top?
[44:21] Speaker 3: Can id of say? I like your dead? He seems
[44:23] Speaker 3: like a very charming man. But I gotta what do
[44:26] Speaker 3: your friends say when they come over to the place
[44:29] Speaker 3: and Dad's got that at the back?
[44:32] Speaker 1: What are the comments?
[44:33] Speaker 2: They don't want to leave?
[44:34] Speaker 11: That's the thing you can't get rid of them. And
[44:36] Speaker 11: I would sometimes I'm the one at two in the
[44:38] Speaker 11: morning or something.
[44:39] Speaker 1: I remember when.
[44:40] Speaker 11: I was in school after her debs, which is like
[44:42] Speaker 11: your graduation night, saying okay, I'm going to bed see
[44:46] Speaker 11: yourselves home, but with a fully stock bar. I'd come
[44:48] Speaker 11: in the next morning and you're kind of climbing over
[44:50] Speaker 11: bodies that are asleep on the floor and asleep here
[44:53] Speaker 11: in the chairs.
[44:53] Speaker 1: But they love it. They think it's great.
[44:55] Speaker 11: In fact, once I tweeted it out here, I said, look,
[44:57] Speaker 11: this is my dad's shed. Just put out an innoc
[45:00] Speaker 11: and tweet and it went super viral. In Ireland and
[45:02] Speaker 11: was in all the newspapers and now everyone when they
[45:05] Speaker 11: see my dad up the town ask him about the shed.
[45:08] Speaker 11: But you know what, it's a lovely place where he
[45:10] Speaker 11: comes out every night. He will watch it. Maybe you
[45:13] Speaker 11: know some old Irish music on the screen there. We
[45:15] Speaker 11: heard Luke Kelly singing school days over he'll watch Celtic
[45:18] Speaker 11: Plane and around the walls here you saw all that memorabilia.
[45:22] Speaker 11: You've got some religious figures, You've got symbols of the
[45:24] Speaker 11: nineteen sixteen, the Irish d the Easter Rising and or
[45:27] Speaker 11: fight for freedom against the British. So it's a beautiful
[45:30] Speaker 11: little spot and I hope I don't know how popular
[45:32] Speaker 11: Manchhds are in Australia, but I hope this will inspire people.
[45:36] Speaker 1: James, I was thinking, we need to get your dad
[45:38] Speaker 1: over here.
[45:39] Speaker 3: In no disrespect to Paul Murray, whom we love and
[45:41] Speaker 3: regard highly, but you know, maybe the man Cave.
[45:44] Speaker 1: Could do with a bit of sprucing up and we
[45:46] Speaker 1: can get your dad over here. To Linda hand.
[45:49] Speaker 11: Now, that is the worst idea I have ever heard
[45:52] Speaker 11: in my entire life. There's a reason I pre recorded
[45:56] Speaker 11: that interview and cut out all the bits we couldn't
[45:58] Speaker 11: put on television. Now I'm lucky. He's great. He's seventy
[46:02] Speaker 11: seven years young, soon to be seventy eight. But the
[46:05] Speaker 11: problem is, and it's a good thing in his mind,
[46:07] Speaker 11: he still thinks that he is twenty seven, so it's
[46:11] Speaker 11: a good thing.
[46:11] Speaker 1: I guess.
[46:12] Speaker 3: I gotta ask you, with all of that going on
[46:14] Speaker 3: in the shit at the back, I mean, growing up
[46:17] Speaker 3: and with your mum, do you ever see him in
[46:19] Speaker 3: the house.
[46:21] Speaker 11: Not very often, No, Sometimes when he comes in from
[46:24] Speaker 11: work he might beatle through the kitchen and get his
[46:26] Speaker 11: dinner and then it's straight out here to the manshet.
[46:28] Speaker 11: But also I have to mention there's a stove over
[46:31] Speaker 11: here as well, so the place is heated. You've got
[46:33] Speaker 11: a shower and a bathroom, a full on suite. You've
[46:36] Speaker 11: got the big screen where you can watch anything you want, movies, football,
[46:39] Speaker 11: it's got all the channels, including from Australia. So you'd
[46:42] Speaker 11: never really have to leave this place. I mean you
[46:44] Speaker 11: could when the nuclear war breaks out. I mean this
[46:47] Speaker 11: is probably going to be the safest place in the
[46:49] Speaker 11: world here on the West of Ireland. But the pints
[46:52] Speaker 11: of guinness are good too. I'm told you know how
[46:53] Speaker 11: here in Ireland the pints of Guinness tastes better than
[46:56] Speaker 11: any where else in the world. Well, here are my
[46:58] Speaker 11: dad's shed in the bar. Tell you that they taste
[47:00] Speaker 11: particularly good. And when you come over, Sky News could
[47:03] Speaker 11: do the whole program from here someday. I think it's
[47:05] Speaker 11: a good idea.
[47:06] Speaker 1: I reckon we could.
[47:07] Speaker 3: Hey, I want to ask you about you moved to
[47:09] Speaker 3: Washington in a second, but just one more question on
[47:12] Speaker 3: the manshed. I did hear your dad say mum is
[47:14] Speaker 3: not allowed in?
[47:16] Speaker 1: How does that work?
[47:18] Speaker 2: Of course not.
[47:19] Speaker 11: But the thing is when you said that to my mom,
[47:21] Speaker 11: she goes, I don't want to go out to the shed.
[47:23] Speaker 11: I can't see she's no interest in coming out here.
[47:25] Speaker 11: So it absolutely works perfectly. From day one, it worked great.
[47:29] Speaker 11: She comes out when we have some big occasions. My
[47:32] Speaker 11: uncle was here recently. He's a retired priest and we
[47:34] Speaker 11: showed a video of his time in Africa at thirty
[47:36] Speaker 11: years in Angola. So the place was packed with family
[47:39] Speaker 11: and friends. But apart from that, she is happy in
[47:42] Speaker 11: the house and it works out great, very good.
[47:45] Speaker 3: Hey, we've got one minute left. I believe you're making
[47:48] Speaker 3: a move to Washington. Talk to me about that.
[47:51] Speaker 11: I'm leaving on a jet plane. I am after six
[47:55] Speaker 11: years James of reporting in Rome, working with the Vatican
[47:58] Speaker 11: and the Holy Father, Paul Francis, then Pope Leo. We've
[48:01] Speaker 11: taken a promotion at work, my wife, Paula and I
[48:03] Speaker 11: and we're going to Washington, d C. So wish us luck.
[48:06] Speaker 11: We're moving this Saturday. We'll still be covering the Catholic
[48:09] Speaker 11: Church and I'll still be going on those all important
[48:11] Speaker 11: trips with the Pope, but I won't be covering the
[48:13] Speaker 11: day to day of the Vatican anymore. It'll be stories
[48:15] Speaker 11: across the United States. So interesting. Time to go, so
[48:19] Speaker 11: wish me. Look, that's why I'm getting the most out
[48:21] Speaker 11: of the shed while i'm here.
[48:23] Speaker 3: Absolutely make the most of it. Com It's always a
[48:25] Speaker 3: delight to chat. Thanks for joining me. I looks like
[48:28] Speaker 3: you're gonna go on with the party you're having there
[48:30] Speaker 3: in the shed, so I'll leave you to it.
[48:32] Speaker 1: But thanks for coming.
[48:33] Speaker 3: On the program, My pleasure.
[48:35] Speaker 11: All the best.
[48:36] Speaker 1: Cheers, mate.
[48:37] Speaker 3: Well that's all I've got time for tonight stick Around.
[48:40] Speaker 3: Coming up in just a moment is the Late Debate,
[48:42] Speaker 3: hosted tonight by Daniki de Giorgio with a very special
[48:45] Speaker 3: guest who I'm looking forward to seeing. That's coming back

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