Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Now we learned yesterday the Federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton
(00:03):
would be traveling to Alice Springs to meet with the
Chief Minister Lea Fanocchiaro, as well as the Shadow Indigenous
Affairs Minister, just Center Namba, Jimpa Price, local leaders and
residents to hear about concerns in the Red Center town,
which has been plagued with issues of crime. The visit
was fitting as we head into an election year, many
(00:23):
Territorians are wondering what a potential labor or coalition government
is going to do to try and curb the horrendous
issues that we've experienced here in the Northern Territory when
it comes to crime. Now joining me on the line
is the Federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton. Good morning to you.
Good morning Katie, Thanks so much for your time this morning.
(00:45):
Now what is on your agenda while you're in Alice Springs.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
Well, so great to be back on the show. And firstly,
can I say to you and your listeners thank you
very much for the real commitment you've had to addressing
the issue of law and order in crime and making
sure that and live and raise their children in the
safe community. And I have the same objective in mind,
and I know Leathan Occaio does as well. There's a
seven point plan that she has put together on top
(01:10):
of the changes that they've already implemented, and we have
announced yesterday that we agree to those seven points that
she's outlined, and we saw last night one of those
in action with the drone activity and making sure that
CASS of the Federal Authority gives the tick of approval
makes it easier for those flights to take place, because
(01:31):
we know it's a real tool in the kit bag
for our police. And there are a number of other
issues that the Chief Minister has raised after her consultation,
and all of us are dedicated to doing whatever we
can to try and provide a restoration of the safety
and security that people rightly expect and demand in their
(01:53):
local households, the local communities, the local businesses.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
Well. Absolutely, I mean, just yesterday on the show, we're
actually speaking to Marlon Sequenza, the dad of the little
baby whose skull was fractured before Christmas after a home
invasion in Alice Springs. I mean, I think it's safe
to say that we've you know, we've made headlines across
the nation for all the wrong reasons in the Northern
Territory and quite frankly, we're all sick of it.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
Well, I understand why people are, and I think people
are just living frankly for years now with the constant
it's a constant cloud over your head. You're looking over
your shoulder, you're not going to go out to that
shop or to that part of town, or you're worried
about a noise in the night, you're worried about business
(02:41):
being broken into and getting that call from the police,
or so many aspects of it. And it's been a
long time since I was a policeman, but remember very
vividly just the mental impact that it has on people
when they're constantly under attack, and it then parts forms
part of every conversation you have with your neighbor, at work,
(03:04):
in your social group, on your social media, and it's
debilitating and people deserve better than that. Because I've been
coming to Ela Springs for a long long time and
it is a beautiful part of the world. It should
be a tourist mecca. It should be an opportunity for
young people to make a great start in life and
for people to do well in business and at the moment,
(03:28):
people have lost sight of some of that and we
need to get it back.
Speaker 1 (03:30):
Opposition Leader. We know, as you touched on just a
moment ago, Anthony Albanesi and the Labor government they agreed
to those changes when it comes to Cassa. But some
of those other changes like aligning center Link payments with
takeaway alcohol free days, as well as royalty distributions to
be made in communities not in Alice Springs, implementing one
(03:51):
hundred percent income management for parents of youth offenders. Some
of those different different plans or initiative is that the
local government here in the Northern Territory had hoped to
see sort of come to fruition and they seem to
be dragging their heels on. You've said that you will
commit to certainly trying to implement those How do you
(04:14):
think they'll make a difference.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
They'll make a difference because we've listened to the experience
of people on the ground, and we've listened to the
police and others, and that's exactly what the Chief Minister
has done and that's reflected in the seven items. Now
to the Chief Minister's credit, she shared that with the
Prime Minister first and asked for his support of each
of the seven. As you point out, he came back
(04:38):
and supported one of the seven in relation to Cassel,
which was probably the easiest issue to deal with because
it was just a technicality around the airspace and how
the drains could fly. And now I think there's further
reform to be made in that regard so that we
can make the job for the police easier and make
it more responsive for the drain activity to try and
(05:00):
stop some of this crime even before it is committed.
So there's a real question mark about why the PM
wouldn't agree to the other six items. I think they're sensible.
I think they're just, as I say, a reflection of
what people think will practically make a difference. It's not
pretending to be the silver bullet, but it will build
(05:22):
on the work that LEAD has done already and when
you look at the number of arrests that have been made,
the task forces that have been set up, they have
had an impact and we heard that from the Deputy
Commissioner yesterday, But there's a long way to go and
there's a big mess to clean up that labor created
and it's not going to be fixed overnight. But why
the Prime Minister hasn't dedicated himself to this cause I
(05:44):
don't understand. Since the voice, it just seems that he's
dropped the ball and hasn't had a great interest in
Alice Springs at all.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
Well, and I guess there's a lot of ifs here.
We know that we still don't know exactly what date
the federal election is going to happen, and you indeed
would need to be elected as the the Prime Minister
for these changes to come into play. But if that happens,
how quickly do you think that you'd be able to
implement some of these changes and have them come into effect.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
Well, certainly with some of them within a matter of weeks.
It's an administrative decision able to be implemented by the minister,
So there's really no excuse at all. In some of
the other matters, there'll be legislation required which we can
pass immediately, but we'll need the support of Labor in
the Senate because obviously the greenswayes support it. Now, then
(06:36):
on the Labor Party if they're not going to support it.
But I would have thought that if there is a
clear mandate, if we can win the seat of Lingiari,
for example, with Lisa Sibert, who's given sixteen years of
her life as Australian Federal Police officer. I think she's
a great candidate, as Lisa Baylis is in Solomon in Darwin.
And if we can get those two members elected, then
(06:59):
I think we can change the government, we can get
our country back on track. But I think it gives
us a better chance of implementing these seven points and
many more. There's a lot of support that Alice Springs
and Darwin requires and across the territory, and I think
the opportunity for growth and economic and tourism growth is phenomenal.
But the Prime Minister seems to live in this Canberra
(07:19):
bubble and they've employed thirty six thousand new public service
servants in Canberra over the last two and a half
years at a cost of six billion dollars a year,
and I just don't think any of that has made
life easier for people in the territory. And I want
to make sure that we can we can help people
improve the safety situation but also the economic situation as well.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
Peter Dutton, do you think the implementation of something like
the one hundred percent income management for parents of youth defenders.
Do you think that it's something which should actually be
rolled out across the nation. I mean places like cans
and Townsville for example, are also grappling with really serious
issues of crime.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
Well, we had in government a policy with the Casualist
debit card for people on working age payments and it
was on a trial basis, but obviously hasn't proceeded with
this government. In an area like Siguna, there was a
significant downturn in the number of crimes that were being
committed when the cacialist debit card came in because, as
(08:22):
people know, people weren't spending money on grog, they weren't
spending it on drugs. They were spending it on food
and groceries and fruit and vegge and support for their
kids and their families. When Anthony Alberanezi was elected Prime Minister,
they knocked that out and we saw straight away a
spike in domestic violence and the alcohol fuel violence returned
(08:43):
to that community very quickly. Now the government doesn't have
any understanding of why, and certainly they've provided no explanation
as to why they removed the card. There just seems
to be some desire to please Green voters in inner
city Sydney in Melbourne who see it as a racist
But people know that if they've got out of the
(09:05):
royalty payments, there's a flood of cash coming in. It's
being spent on alcohol and as the police pointed out yesterday,
you can track the surge and crime when those big
payments come into Alice Springs are into a community, and
there's no sense denying that. It might be inconvenient for
some of the Prime Minister's friends to hear that inner
city Sydney, but the reality is that locals know that
(09:28):
that's the case and it needs to be addressed. And
four marks to the Chief Minister, because I think she's
really rolled the sleeves up and is trying to find
every way possible to help resolve a very difficult situation.
Speaker 1 (09:41):
Now, I do want to ask you about a couple
of issues nationally in just a moment before I get there, though.
What else is on the agenda while you're in Allie
Springs today.
Speaker 2 (09:50):
Well, we've got to focus on meeting with some of
the small business leaders just to hear about how we
can help grow their businesses. We announced a policy you
might have seen in the last four night, which allows
businesses with a turnover of less than ten million dollars,
so it's about ninety eight percent of small businesses in
the country to be able to spend up to twenty
thousand dollars in any one financial year in cafes, restaurants, clubs, hotels,
(10:15):
et cetera. And the idea of that is that it
allows the local real estate agent or the local builder
to take his or her staff down to the pub,
down to local cafe, not to spend money on alcohol,
but spend money on food, and it can help also
entertain customers. And we think that is a very important policy.
(10:38):
It's tax deductible, it's not fringe benefits accessible, so it
takes out some of the complication and we think that
will really help a sector that's struggling at the moment
with high wage cost and high regulation, big input costs.
Their power bills have gone through the roof as well,
so it helps those cafes employ more staff, but it
(10:58):
also provides it's a tax reduction for those businesses the
same as they would have for other expenses. So yeah,
that's our focus.
Speaker 1 (11:08):
And just quickly, I guess looking at that cost of living.
Many are wondering if the interest rates could soon be cut.
We know that inflation dropped by zero point four percent
in the twelve months to December. I guess giving fresh
hopes to some mortgage holders. The new figures from the
Australian Bureau of Statistics are the key piece of data
that the RBA look well, they will look at during
their February meeting. What do you think's going to happen?
(11:30):
I mean, do you think we are potentially going to
have a situation here where we do have a cut
to the interest rate? We know, cost of living, like
you touched on a moment ago, is a huge issue,
not only for us here in the territory, but right
across Australia.
Speaker 2 (11:47):
Well, Kat, I certainly hope interest rates can come down soon.
But as a reserve bank Gavenor points out, the government
keeps spending a lot of money in the economy, as
labor governments obviously do regularly. They tax and spend, and
that spending has driven inflation, which has fueled interest rates. Now,
interest rates have already come down in the US, the UK,
Canada and New Zealand, and they should have already come
(12:08):
down here by now. So I hope that they do
come down. But as you know, a young couple that
I met last night said, you know, coming down by
zero point twenty five of percent is okay, but they've
gone up twelve occasions since mister Albanezi has been elected
as Prime minister. And you know they'll be grateful for
a reduction of zero point twenty five if that's what happens,
(12:31):
and as I say, we hope it does, but it's
not going to solve the dilemma of their budget. Overnight
the prices of groceries and electricity is up by thirty
four percent, gases up by over thirty percent. People are
really struggling to pay their bills under this government.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
Well it's you know, you go to Woolley, so you
go to Cohl's, go wherever you can, go to the
corner store, you go to buy three things and it
costs you one hundred bucks. You know, that's a huge
impulse for everybody. And then here in the Northern Territory,
as I know that you'd be aware of, you know,
things like the cost of aes. If you've got family
that live into state, you're paying an arm and a
leg to be able to travel to Brisbane or to
(13:05):
Sydney or wherever they.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
Might be well and car insurance as well. I mean
people are paying eight hundred dollars one thousand dollars more
for their car insurance in Sale Springs, probably higher and
dal when I suspect as well than in other parts
of the country. And so it all of it adds up.
And it's both the point that I'd make about the
(13:26):
government's economic policies but also their energy policy of the
renewables only policy. That's what's driving up the cost of
your electricity bill. We pay about three times the cost
of electricity compared to some other comparable economies in the world,
and it just can't go on. And it's not just
your power bill at home. It's the local butcher, it's
the ida store, it's the cold stores you point out,
(13:49):
and it's the farmer with the cold storage bill that's
gone through the roof. All of that is passed on
and that's why you're paying more for groceries at the supermarket.
And this is the problem that Prime Minise has created,
and we've got to fix it because people just can't
afford these high costs in their budget, particularly when they're
paying a lot more for their mortgage than they were
(14:10):
a couple of years ago.
Speaker 1 (14:12):
Peter Dutton, before I let you go, shocking national news overnight,
obviously it was unveiled that a potential anti Semitic terror
attack has been foiled after a caravan filled with explosives
and a note with the address of key Jewish targets
was found in Sydney's North. Now the Daily Telegraph broke
the news. So the shocking the breaking of the news
(14:33):
obviously was last night, but this actually happened a number
of days ago, but it's now seen more than one
hundred police deployed as part of a joint counter terrorism investigation.
It's really very frightening stuff. I mean, what was your
reaction when you found out about this?
Speaker 2 (14:50):
Well as shocking newsk there's no doubt about that the
reports of the explosives been capable of having a forty
meter blast sign would make if it had been successful,
the most catastrophic terrorist attack in our country's history. And
we should really stop and pause when we hear those words,
because we just don't want violence of any nature in
(15:13):
our country, but certainly not terrorist attacks. Reality is that
this has been building for a long period of time.
October seven terrorist attacks in Israel fifteen months ago or so,
that was a shocking reminder of what is a reality
in our country. And the protest on the university campuses
(15:37):
went on for months and months, and the hatred, the
anti dosing, the racism, the anti semitism that we've seen
has become normalized. And it starts with the graffiti, it
then elevates to the thigh bombing of the synagogue, the
attack on the childcare center, and people have predicted that
(15:58):
the people will be killed, Jewish people will be killed
if this is not stopped. And I'd really applaud the
New South Wales Police for the work that they're doing.
Speaker 1 (16:06):
If you become the Prime minister, how are you going
to respond to what seems to be this growing anti
semitism that we are seeing here in Australia.
Speaker 2 (16:18):
Well, Katie, when I was Home Affairs Minister, we canceled
the visas of six three hundred criminals. The government has
really stopped that program. They've dropped the ball. And these
were people who were potential terrorists. These are people who
had committed crimes of murder, of rape, of incest, of
drug trafficking of sexual offenses against children and we were
(16:38):
a safer community as a result of it. The government
has to start that program again. We have announced a
mandatory sentence for people who are convicted of terrorist related offenses.
The government way to adopt that, and as I've said,
you need to have the definite direction and the clear
thinking and the strength of leadership from the Prime Minister
(16:59):
to give direction to the agencies to say we're not
going to tolerate these terrorist flags being flown. We're not
going to allow people to come in from a terrorist
controlled territory. The Prime Minister allowed three thousand people from Gaza,
an area controlled by a listed terrorist organization, to come
into our country on tourist visas without the security checks
(17:21):
being undertaken. It's quite breathtaking. And now we find ourselves
with allegedly a terrorist attempt being thwarted. And you know,
the Prime Minister shouldn't be surprised by this at all.
It is unbelievable. It's been allowed to go on for
so long. And as Prime Minister, I would bring every
(17:41):
experience that I've had as a police officer and as
the Immigration Minister, as the Defense Minister, and as the
Home Affairs Minister to bear. We can't have tolerance for
hatred of any part of our community. And it's the
Jews today, of who is it tomorrow? And why do
we allow people to be treated in this way? And
(18:01):
the Prime Minister is chasing votes from the Greens, inner
city Sydney, in Melbourne, and frankly, the Jewish community is
completely and utterly dismayed and disgusted it the conduct of
the Prime Minister and we shouldn't allow this sort of
hatred in our country.
Speaker 1 (18:16):
Well, Federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, we really appreciate your
time this morning. Before I let you go, what date
do you think this federal election is going to happen?
Speaker 2 (18:25):
Well, Katie, the one thing I'm sure of is that
I'll be the last person. The Prime Minister selves what
the date will be. There's a lot of speculation around
the twelfth of April. I guess we'll wait to see.
But the Prime Minister has got a lot of issues
on his plate at the moment, and I think there
is a big mood for change in our country and
if we can get our two leases up here in
(18:46):
the Northern Territory, then I think we can have a
change of government, we can get our country back on track.
Speaker 1 (18:50):
Well, it's going to be an interesting time, there's no
doubt about that. Peter Dutton, thanks so much for having
a chat with me today.
Speaker 2 (18:57):
My pleasure to take care.
Speaker 1 (18:58):
Thank you.
Now we learned yesterday the Federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton
(00:03):
would be traveling to Alice Springs to meet with the
Chief Minister Lea Fanocchiaro, as well as the Shadow Indigenous
Affairs Minister, just Center Namba, Jimpa Price, local leaders and
residents to hear about concerns in the Red Center town,
which has been plagued with issues of crime. The visit
was fitting as we head into an election year, many
(00:23):
Territorians are wondering what a potential labor or coalition government
is going to do to try and curb the horrendous
issues that we've experienced here in the Northern Territory when
it comes to crime. Now joining me on the line
is the Federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton. Good morning to you.
Good morning Katie, Thanks so much for your time this morning.
(00:45):
Now what is on your agenda while you're in Alice Springs.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
Well, so great to be back on the show. And firstly,
can I say to you and your listeners thank you
very much for the real commitment you've had to addressing
the issue of law and order in crime and making
sure that and live and raise their children in the
safe community. And I have the same objective in mind,
and I know Leathan Occaio does as well. There's a
seven point plan that she has put together on top
(01:10):
of the changes that they've already implemented, and we have
announced yesterday that we agree to those seven points that
she's outlined, and we saw last night one of those
in action with the drone activity and making sure that
CASS of the Federal Authority gives the tick of approval
makes it easier for those flights to take place, because
(01:31):
we know it's a real tool in the kit bag
for our police. And there are a number of other
issues that the Chief Minister has raised after her consultation,
and all of us are dedicated to doing whatever we
can to try and provide a restoration of the safety
and security that people rightly expect and demand in their
(01:53):
local households, the local communities, the local businesses.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
Well. Absolutely, I mean, just yesterday on the show, we're
actually speaking to Marlon Sequenza, the dad of the little
baby whose skull was fractured before Christmas after a home
invasion in Alice Springs. I mean, I think it's safe
to say that we've you know, we've made headlines across
the nation for all the wrong reasons in the Northern
Territory and quite frankly, we're all sick of it.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
Well, I understand why people are, and I think people
are just living frankly for years now with the constant
it's a constant cloud over your head. You're looking over
your shoulder, you're not going to go out to that
shop or to that part of town, or you're worried
about a noise in the night, you're worried about business
(02:41):
being broken into and getting that call from the police,
or so many aspects of it. And it's been a
long time since I was a policeman, but remember very
vividly just the mental impact that it has on people
when they're constantly under attack, and it then parts forms
part of every conversation you have with your neighbor, at work,
(03:04):
in your social group, on your social media, and it's
debilitating and people deserve better than that. Because I've been
coming to Ela Springs for a long long time and
it is a beautiful part of the world. It should
be a tourist mecca. It should be an opportunity for
young people to make a great start in life and
for people to do well in business and at the moment,
(03:28):
people have lost sight of some of that and we
need to get it back.
Speaker 1 (03:30):
Opposition Leader. We know, as you touched on just a
moment ago, Anthony Albanesi and the Labor government they agreed
to those changes when it comes to Cassa. But some
of those other changes like aligning center Link payments with
takeaway alcohol free days, as well as royalty distributions to
be made in communities not in Alice Springs, implementing one
(03:51):
hundred percent income management for parents of youth offenders. Some
of those different different plans or initiative is that the
local government here in the Northern Territory had hoped to
see sort of come to fruition and they seem to
be dragging their heels on. You've said that you will
commit to certainly trying to implement those How do you
(04:14):
think they'll make a difference.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
They'll make a difference because we've listened to the experience
of people on the ground, and we've listened to the
police and others, and that's exactly what the Chief Minister
has done and that's reflected in the seven items. Now
to the Chief Minister's credit, she shared that with the
Prime Minister first and asked for his support of each
of the seven. As you point out, he came back
(04:38):
and supported one of the seven in relation to Cassel,
which was probably the easiest issue to deal with because
it was just a technicality around the airspace and how
the drains could fly. And now I think there's further
reform to be made in that regard so that we
can make the job for the police easier and make
it more responsive for the drain activity to try and
(05:00):
stop some of this crime even before it is committed.
So there's a real question mark about why the PM
wouldn't agree to the other six items. I think they're sensible.
I think they're just, as I say, a reflection of
what people think will practically make a difference. It's not
pretending to be the silver bullet, but it will build
(05:22):
on the work that LEAD has done already and when
you look at the number of arrests that have been made,
the task forces that have been set up, they have
had an impact and we heard that from the Deputy
Commissioner yesterday, But there's a long way to go and
there's a big mess to clean up that labor created
and it's not going to be fixed overnight. But why
the Prime Minister hasn't dedicated himself to this cause I
(05:44):
don't understand. Since the voice, it just seems that he's
dropped the ball and hasn't had a great interest in
Alice Springs at all.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
Well, and I guess there's a lot of ifs here.
We know that we still don't know exactly what date
the federal election is going to happen, and you indeed
would need to be elected as the the Prime Minister
for these changes to come into play. But if that happens,
how quickly do you think that you'd be able to
implement some of these changes and have them come into effect.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
Well, certainly with some of them within a matter of weeks.
It's an administrative decision able to be implemented by the minister,
So there's really no excuse at all. In some of
the other matters, there'll be legislation required which we can
pass immediately, but we'll need the support of Labor in
the Senate because obviously the greenswayes support it. Now, then
(06:36):
on the Labor Party if they're not going to support it.
But I would have thought that if there is a
clear mandate, if we can win the seat of Lingiari,
for example, with Lisa Sibert, who's given sixteen years of
her life as Australian Federal Police officer. I think she's
a great candidate, as Lisa Baylis is in Solomon in Darwin.
And if we can get those two members elected, then
(06:59):
I think we can change the government, we can get
our country back on track. But I think it gives
us a better chance of implementing these seven points and
many more. There's a lot of support that Alice Springs
and Darwin requires and across the territory, and I think
the opportunity for growth and economic and tourism growth is phenomenal.
But the Prime Minister seems to live in this Canberra
(07:19):
bubble and they've employed thirty six thousand new public service
servants in Canberra over the last two and a half
years at a cost of six billion dollars a year,
and I just don't think any of that has made
life easier for people in the territory. And I want
to make sure that we can we can help people
improve the safety situation but also the economic situation as well.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
Peter Dutton, do you think the implementation of something like
the one hundred percent income management for parents of youth defenders.
Do you think that it's something which should actually be
rolled out across the nation. I mean places like cans
and Townsville for example, are also grappling with really serious
issues of crime.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
Well, we had in government a policy with the Casualist
debit card for people on working age payments and it
was on a trial basis, but obviously hasn't proceeded with
this government. In an area like Siguna, there was a
significant downturn in the number of crimes that were being
committed when the cacialist debit card came in because, as
(08:22):
people know, people weren't spending money on grog, they weren't
spending it on drugs. They were spending it on food
and groceries and fruit and vegge and support for their
kids and their families. When Anthony Alberanezi was elected Prime Minister,
they knocked that out and we saw straight away a
spike in domestic violence and the alcohol fuel violence returned
(08:43):
to that community very quickly. Now the government doesn't have
any understanding of why, and certainly they've provided no explanation
as to why they removed the card. There just seems
to be some desire to please Green voters in inner
city Sydney in Melbourne who see it as a racist
But people know that if they've got out of the
(09:05):
royalty payments, there's a flood of cash coming in. It's
being spent on alcohol and as the police pointed out yesterday,
you can track the surge and crime when those big
payments come into Alice Springs are into a community, and
there's no sense denying that. It might be inconvenient for
some of the Prime Minister's friends to hear that inner
city Sydney, but the reality is that locals know that
(09:28):
that's the case and it needs to be addressed. And
four marks to the Chief Minister, because I think she's
really rolled the sleeves up and is trying to find
every way possible to help resolve a very difficult situation.
Speaker 1 (09:41):
Now, I do want to ask you about a couple
of issues nationally in just a moment before I get there, though.
What else is on the agenda while you're in Allie
Springs today.
Speaker 2 (09:50):
Well, we've got to focus on meeting with some of
the small business leaders just to hear about how we
can help grow their businesses. We announced a policy you
might have seen in the last four night, which allows
businesses with a turnover of less than ten million dollars,
so it's about ninety eight percent of small businesses in
the country to be able to spend up to twenty
thousand dollars in any one financial year in cafes, restaurants, clubs, hotels,
(10:15):
et cetera. And the idea of that is that it
allows the local real estate agent or the local builder
to take his or her staff down to the pub,
down to local cafe, not to spend money on alcohol,
but spend money on food, and it can help also
entertain customers. And we think that is a very important policy.
(10:38):
It's tax deductible, it's not fringe benefits accessible, so it
takes out some of the complication and we think that
will really help a sector that's struggling at the moment
with high wage cost and high regulation, big input costs.
Their power bills have gone through the roof as well,
so it helps those cafes employ more staff, but it
(10:58):
also provides it's a tax reduction for those businesses the
same as they would have for other expenses. So yeah,
that's our focus.
Speaker 1 (11:08):
And just quickly, I guess looking at that cost of living.
Many are wondering if the interest rates could soon be cut.
We know that inflation dropped by zero point four percent
in the twelve months to December. I guess giving fresh
hopes to some mortgage holders. The new figures from the
Australian Bureau of Statistics are the key piece of data
that the RBA look well, they will look at during
their February meeting. What do you think's going to happen?
(11:30):
I mean, do you think we are potentially going to
have a situation here where we do have a cut
to the interest rate? We know, cost of living, like
you touched on a moment ago, is a huge issue,
not only for us here in the territory, but right
across Australia.
Speaker 2 (11:47):
Well, Kat, I certainly hope interest rates can come down soon.
But as a reserve bank Gavenor points out, the government
keeps spending a lot of money in the economy, as
labor governments obviously do regularly. They tax and spend, and
that spending has driven inflation, which has fueled interest rates. Now,
interest rates have already come down in the US, the UK,
Canada and New Zealand, and they should have already come
(12:08):
down here by now. So I hope that they do
come down. But as you know, a young couple that
I met last night said, you know, coming down by
zero point twenty five of percent is okay, but they've
gone up twelve occasions since mister Albanezi has been elected
as Prime minister. And you know they'll be grateful for
a reduction of zero point twenty five if that's what happens,
(12:31):
and as I say, we hope it does, but it's
not going to solve the dilemma of their budget. Overnight
the prices of groceries and electricity is up by thirty
four percent, gases up by over thirty percent. People are
really struggling to pay their bills under this government.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
Well it's you know, you go to Woolley, so you
go to Cohl's, go wherever you can, go to the
corner store, you go to buy three things and it
costs you one hundred bucks. You know, that's a huge
impulse for everybody. And then here in the Northern Territory,
as I know that you'd be aware of, you know,
things like the cost of aes. If you've got family
that live into state, you're paying an arm and a
leg to be able to travel to Brisbane or to
(13:05):
Sydney or wherever they.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
Might be well and car insurance as well. I mean
people are paying eight hundred dollars one thousand dollars more
for their car insurance in Sale Springs, probably higher and
dal when I suspect as well than in other parts
of the country. And so it all of it adds up.
And it's both the point that I'd make about the
(13:26):
government's economic policies but also their energy policy of the
renewables only policy. That's what's driving up the cost of
your electricity bill. We pay about three times the cost
of electricity compared to some other comparable economies in the world,
and it just can't go on. And it's not just
your power bill at home. It's the local butcher, it's
the ida store, it's the cold stores you point out,
(13:49):
and it's the farmer with the cold storage bill that's
gone through the roof. All of that is passed on
and that's why you're paying more for groceries at the supermarket.
And this is the problem that Prime Minise has created,
and we've got to fix it because people just can't
afford these high costs in their budget, particularly when they're
paying a lot more for their mortgage than they were
(14:10):
a couple of years ago.
Speaker 1 (14:12):
Peter Dutton, before I let you go, shocking national news overnight,
obviously it was unveiled that a potential anti Semitic terror
attack has been foiled after a caravan filled with explosives
and a note with the address of key Jewish targets
was found in Sydney's North. Now the Daily Telegraph broke
the news. So the shocking the breaking of the news
(14:33):
obviously was last night, but this actually happened a number
of days ago, but it's now seen more than one
hundred police deployed as part of a joint counter terrorism investigation.
It's really very frightening stuff. I mean, what was your
reaction when you found out about this?
Speaker 2 (14:50):
Well as shocking newsk there's no doubt about that the
reports of the explosives been capable of having a forty
meter blast sign would make if it had been successful,
the most catastrophic terrorist attack in our country's history. And
we should really stop and pause when we hear those words,
because we just don't want violence of any nature in
(15:13):
our country, but certainly not terrorist attacks. Reality is that
this has been building for a long period of time.
October seven terrorist attacks in Israel fifteen months ago or so,
that was a shocking reminder of what is a reality
in our country. And the protest on the university campuses
(15:37):
went on for months and months, and the hatred, the
anti dosing, the racism, the anti semitism that we've seen
has become normalized. And it starts with the graffiti, it
then elevates to the thigh bombing of the synagogue, the
attack on the childcare center, and people have predicted that
(15:58):
the people will be killed, Jewish people will be killed
if this is not stopped. And I'd really applaud the
New South Wales Police for the work that they're doing.
Speaker 1 (16:06):
If you become the Prime minister, how are you going
to respond to what seems to be this growing anti
semitism that we are seeing here in Australia.
Speaker 2 (16:18):
Well, Katie, when I was Home Affairs Minister, we canceled
the visas of six three hundred criminals. The government has
really stopped that program. They've dropped the ball. And these
were people who were potential terrorists. These are people who
had committed crimes of murder, of rape, of incest, of
drug trafficking of sexual offenses against children and we were
(16:38):
a safer community as a result of it. The government
has to start that program again. We have announced a
mandatory sentence for people who are convicted of terrorist related offenses.
The government way to adopt that, and as I've said,
you need to have the definite direction and the clear
thinking and the strength of leadership from the Prime Minister
(16:59):
to give direction to the agencies to say we're not
going to tolerate these terrorist flags being flown. We're not
going to allow people to come in from a terrorist
controlled territory. The Prime Minister allowed three thousand people from Gaza,
an area controlled by a listed terrorist organization, to come
into our country on tourist visas without the security checks
(17:21):
being undertaken. It's quite breathtaking. And now we find ourselves
with allegedly a terrorist attempt being thwarted. And you know,
the Prime Minister shouldn't be surprised by this at all.
It is unbelievable. It's been allowed to go on for
so long. And as Prime Minister, I would bring every
(17:41):
experience that I've had as a police officer and as
the Immigration Minister, as the Defense Minister, and as the
Home Affairs Minister to bear. We can't have tolerance for
hatred of any part of our community. And it's the
Jews today, of who is it tomorrow? And why do
we allow people to be treated in this way? And
(18:01):
the Prime Minister is chasing votes from the Greens, inner
city Sydney, in Melbourne, and frankly, the Jewish community is
completely and utterly dismayed and disgusted it the conduct of
the Prime Minister and we shouldn't allow this sort of
hatred in our country.
Speaker 1 (18:16):
Well, Federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, we really appreciate your
time this morning. Before I let you go, what date
do you think this federal election is going to happen?
Speaker 2 (18:25):
Well, Katie, the one thing I'm sure of is that
I'll be the last person. The Prime Minister selves what
the date will be. There's a lot of speculation around
the twelfth of April. I guess we'll wait to see.
But the Prime Minister has got a lot of issues
on his plate at the moment, and I think there
is a big mood for change in our country and
if we can get our two leases up here in
(18:46):
the Northern Territory, then I think we can have a
change of government, we can get our country back on track.
Speaker 1 (18:50):
Well, it's going to be an interesting time, there's no
doubt about that. Peter Dutton, thanks so much for having
a chat with me today.
Speaker 2 (18:57):
My pleasure to take care.
Speaker 1 (18:58):
Thank you.
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