Subjects: Visit to Israel; shocking UNRWA revelations of involvement in October 7 attacks; Labor’s border policy shambles; the CFMEU and Labor’s rackets, rorts, and rip-offs in the construction sector; Labor’s home grown inflation and cost of living crisis; the PM’s trainwreck Sky interview this morning; Ambassador Rudd.
E&OE.
LUKE GRANT:
Now, the Opposition Leader, Peter Dutton, joins Ray, when he can, on a Thursday morning. I’m delighted to say that Mr Dutton’s got time for me this morning.
It’s a great pleasure to say, Peter Dutton, good morning. I hope you’re well.
PETER DUTTON:
Well, it’s a pleasure to be with you, Luke. Thank you very much mate. I’m very well, thank you.
LUKE GRANT:
You’ve been to Israel, and I will say good on you for doing that. At least someone had the, I think, decency to visit the leadership over there and say Australia is still here, and amongst much of the population, you’ve got a friend. Did anything from that, your conversations with Netanyahu that you can share with me, Peter, come as some surprise? Do they still think we’re their mate or is there a fracture in the relationship from what you observed?
PETER DUTTON:
Well, Luke, it was obviously a very confronting trip because we went down to the kibbutz area and to the music festival site where people were being gunned down. We saw the video of women and children being slaughtered, the decapitations, etc. – it was just barbaric. You can understand why Israel takes the stance against a terrorist organisation like Hamas that they do.
So, we had good conversations with the President and the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister and others during our trip there. There’s a lot of – I mean, without talking specifically about conversations – but I think there is a lot of bewilderment about why Australia has changed its position so dramatically. This Prime Minister’s taken a very different position from Labor or Liberal Prime Ministers before him. I think the world over, it’s just seen as weak that Australia isn’t standing up with our allies.
At the moment this is a fight, really, about civilisation. The fact is that when these people chant ‘from the River to the Sea’, they’re talking about exterminating the Jewish population or the State of Israel. I think that’s why a lot of people within the Jewish community here are feeling quite scared at the moment, which is very upsetting to hear. But that’s the reality of the level of anti-Semitism that we’ve seen in our society.
LUKE GRANT:
Yeah, and look, there are occasions where the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister call out some of this behaviour, but there’s nothing like the consistent approach. I’ll never forget Scott Morrison saying that, you know, they don’t actually believe in this stuff. He was talking there about boats – and we’ll get to that in a moment or two. But if they were completely consistent and devoted and supportive of Israel, when news came through of those nine workers at the UNRWA, when that came through and the confirmation from that sacking, you’d have to think, that they were in part linked to October 7 – wouldn’t the Government say, in all decency, ‘I can’t send taxpayers’ money to that agency until a lot of things change’?
PETER DUTTON:
Well, again Luke, I think every predecessor of the Prime Minister would have made that decision. We’re talking about taxpayers’ dollars here. People are working harder than they’ve ever worked before. They’re paying 20 per cent more tax under this Government than they did only a couple of years ago, and at a time when people are trying to skimp and save every dollar, the Government’s handing money over to an organisation with links to a listed terrorist organisation in our country.
These people were directly involved, it’s alleged, in the October 7 slaughter of 1,200 innocent men, women and children – and there is still over 100 people who are held captive in caves or in tunnels. I think, as people rightly point out, the Prime Minister is motivated here by domestic political gain. To sell out the Jewish community or our relationship with Israel for political gain here in Australia, I think is disgraceful and unforgivable. I think the Prime Minister’s got a lot of questions to answer.
LUKE GRANT:
Just how concerned are you – moving to another area – about the return of illegal boats? I mean, there have been, I think, four in the past few days. I tried to work out yesterday, is that like Tony Burke last time? Eighty-three boats in 80 days. I don’t know if he’s been there, I think he has more than four days, but it’s got to start somewhere and we hope this isn’t the beginning of things. How worried are you?
PETER DUTTON:
Well, I’m worried because you see the situation in Bangladesh, for example, at the moment, if there is a broader war in the Middle East, that will be a push factor as well. But as the Indonesians have always pointed out to us, if Australia’s got sugar on the table, people will come to the table. The people smugglers thought they heard Anthony Albanese before the election say that he supported Operation Sovereign Borders, which of course he did say, but now we know that they’ve watered down most of the elements of it. That’s why since the Government’s been elected, we’ve seen 19 boats arrive with 383 people on board.
Importantly – I think it’s important to make this point – we’ve now had a number of boats that have arrived either on the mainland or got very close to it without being detected, and it’s the local Aboriginal communities who have actually seen people make it onto the mainland. Now, this is a huge problem for a number of reasons. It may not just be people smuggling, but drugs, human trafficking as well, that can take place. If you’ve got people coming onto your shore, you’ve got a biosecurity risk as well.
I think when the Government reduces the spending on aerial surveillance and on maritime surveillance, it’s no wonder these boats are getting through. The people smugglers will just pick that up as a cue that there’s an opportunity for them under a weak Prime Minister to get back into business.
LUKE GRANT:
And, again that consistency of message, it’s just not that there, is it? There’s that lack of belief, dedication, commitment – call it what you will, they’ll do what they need to do for political expediency here at home. But those people, as you point out, the people smugglers watching and hearing the message, they’re saying, ‘Oh, these guys are just playing around here. They don’t really mean any of this’. And business as usual almost returns.
PETER DUTTON:
I think that’s right, Luke. As we’ve pointed out before, the intelligence shows that, that these are organised criminal syndicates, and they watch every word that the Prime Minister says, that the Minister for Immigration or Border Protection, or the Home Affairs Minister says, in relation to boats. If they think there’s a chink in the armour, then they’ll start selling seats on the boat again.
I think it’s also evidenced by the fact that the Government’s now releasing criminals who, some of whom have arrived by boat, back into the community. So, what are the people smugglers saying up in Indonesia or Bangladesh or elsewhere? ‘Well, you can go to Australia, and even if you commit a crime against an Australian citizen and even if it’s a serious crime, you end up with the prospect of being released into the community, getting housing paid for, receiving welfare payments’. I think it’s a green light and that’s why the Prime Minister needs to get on top of this issue quickly, or they’ll quickly be overcome by the number of boat arrivals.
LUKE GRANT:
Yeah, and Burke won’t be able to deal with that. I think that’s plain and simple for anyone to see.
There’s another issue today, and I think I raised this with you once or twice before. It involves – and on this occasion it’s childcare workers – they’ll earn more than $100 extra a week from the end of the year. The Federal Government’s agreed to fund a 15 per cent pay rise in return for childcare centres extending their hours or whatever it might be to make it more affordable for people.
But on the back of that, Peter Dutton, you get this released from the Independent Education Union of Australia, saying they welcome today’s historic announcement that the Federal Labor Government will spend $3.5 billion to fund pay increases that will mean teachers in long day care centres throughout Australia get a 15 per cent pay rise. So, there you’ve got the union championing the cause and to some extent saying, ‘hey, we’re part of this, we’ve got your back’. But there are other sectors that are struggling that would, you know, really enjoy getting some taxpayer money to pay their people more and to make the world a more cuddly place.
This line between the political arm and the financial arm of the left continues to be blurred, and why is it that the Government – and I guess they have to play a role in childcare, no doubt. And I don’t decry these people getting a pay rise – good on them, but this is taxpayer-funded and I don’t know that this is not a worry for lots of people.
PETER DUTTON:
Well, Luke, you raise some good points in terms of just the relationship between the unions and the Government at the moment. Obviously, the Government, as we know, has turned a blind eye for years to the activities of the CFMEU. They have bikies and others who were involved in that union now. Those matters, some of which have been before the court, but I suspect many more that will go before the court in the coming months. It’s driven up the cost of building and infrastructure costs. It means that there’s a – they refer to it as a ‘CFMEU tax’ of 30 per cent – we could be getting 30 per cent more roads, or 30 per cent more hospitals, or 30 per cent more infrastructure.
It has a contagion effect into residential building. So, when you see all of the residential builders that have gone broke, it’s largely because of the influence of the CFMEU within the building market. The Prime Minister’s just turned a blind eye to this. Part of the reason we’ve got a housing crisis at the moment is because of the relationship between that union and the Government. They’ve donated over $10 million to the Prime Minister’s Party, and that money has not been returned. That’s why you get decisions made by Labor governments that are really about the union coverage and getting more union fees, because that, ultimately, influences the amount of money that unions can donate to the Labor Party, but they forget about the economy.
I guess one of the important points that we make is that when the Government’s spending more money in the economy – and the Reserve Bank Governor’s just pointed this out only earlier this week – when the Government’s pumping more money into the economy, that is driving up interest rates. So, poor childcare workers who are on a fairly low rate of pay are seeing their mortgages increase dramatically and a few dollars a week is not going to provide an offset for just how much their mortgage has gone up under Labor, and likely will go up more if the Government keeps spending.
The Reserve Bank Governor’s pointed that out. But the PM had a train wreck interview this morning with Peter Stefanovic on Sky, and it seems that he’s not listening to the words of the Reserve Bank Governor, because she’s worried about the amount of money that Labor’s spending at the moment, and that’s been part of the reason that interest rates have gone as high as they’ve gone.
LUKE GRANT:
And, you know, you keep hearing from those close to Labor, ‘if we get a rate cut, then the people will come back and they’ll, you know, understand we’re doing the right thing’. One rate cut doesn’t do it, and I went through some figures earlier this week, for those on a typical Sydney mortgage, who are thousands and thousands of dollars every month out of pocket, the fact they might get $200 back, maybe at the end of the year or next year – and that’s maybe – that doesn’t change their game. They’re already under so much pressure, Peter, aren’t they? I mean, the Government have to nip this in the bud now and if that means they’ve got to hold back some of the spending, then for God’s sake, do it and let’s get out of this.
PETER DUTTON:
Well, Luke, the laws of economics don’t change, and Labor always conveniently forget about it because they’ve never run a business, they’ve never been in a position where they’re employing staff or they’ve got to make decisions. So, they just continue to spend because that’s what the unions want them to do, and they think that’s what makes them popular.
But I hope that interest rates come down soon – even despite the bad decisions the Government’s making – but as you point out, even if they come down 25 points, there have been 12 rate rises under this Prime Minister, and people have paid a lot for housing in recent years. So many people are carrying big mortgages, they’re getting hours cut back at work, unemployment is projected to go higher and if we’re talking about a US recession, there is going to be a precarious period ahead. I just don’t think having a Labor Government in charge of the economy at a difficult time is optimal. I mean, the Prime Minister was disappointing for a lot of Australians. He’s now turned out to be a disaster for Australians.
LUKE GRANT:
Didn’t get an invite to K.Rudd’s party?
PETER DUTTON:
No, fortunately. I saw K.Rudd a couple of weeks ago in Washington for the Leadership Dialogue and he’s doing a good job across there as Ambassador, obviously, but…
LUKE GRANT:
Hang on, hang on! Did you just tell me he’s doing a good job over there as Ambassador?
PETER DUTTON:
I think he’s working hard. I think he’s anticipating maybe a change of administration…
LUKE GRANT:
Right. I think he might be.
PETER DUTTON:
…so I think he’s hedging bets as we speak. So, anyway, he’s the gift that keeps on giving, our K.Rudd.
LUKE GRANT:
He certainly is. And old – well I shouldn’t say old – but DJ Kitty Glitter, have you allowed yourself to be present in some of DJ Kitty Glitter’s performances? No?
PETER DUTTON:
No, I’ve got to say. No. I’m sorry to be a wet blanket there.
LUKE GRANT:
Alright, keep going. Good to talk to you, Peter. Thanks so much for your time.
PETER DUTTON:
Thank you, mate. You too. Take care.
LUKE GRANT:
Good on you. You too. Peter Dutton on the Ray Hadley Morning Show.
[ends]