Murray Olds: Australian Correspondent on Andrew Hastie's US comments, election polls and Anzac Day commemorations

A defence minister's highlighting the importance of an alliance with the United States amid global tensions.

Shadow defence minister Andrew Hastie says the country's not reliable under Donald Trump. 

Australian Correspondent Murray Olds tells Tim Beveridge Hastie could be the next leader of the Liberal Party should they lose in May's election. 

Olds gives an update the direction the election's heading in and Anzac Day commemorations. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:09):
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Speaker 2 (00:16):
Time's say good morning to Murray Old's today Murray, Hey
you goun good.

Speaker 3 (00:20):
That Tim, Very good morning on this z Anzac day. Yes,
pretty good over here. Thanks wet day and Sydney wet
day and a few other capitals as well. But still
a very strong dawn service, big turn out right around
the country today. There's going to be literally hundreds of
thousands of people who'll be honoring the ANZACs today.

Speaker 2 (00:35):
Yeah. Do you manage to get along to these? Are
you sort of they keeping out of mischief on radio?

Speaker 3 (00:40):
So yeah, I'm working this morning. I've been to a lot.
I've been to many many of these dawn services. I've
been to Anzac Cove a couple of times, been several
times at the Western Front as well. And it is look,
every year is extremely moving. As you might expect that
one hundred and ten years ago this morning that the

(01:01):
Australians and New Zealanders charged ashore at Gallipoli. And only
a few years ago, you know, it wasn't a big
deal over here. I mean, crowds were dwindling it wasn't
regarded as a very significant event, a very important day.
That is completely turned around now and there are very
very big crowds. I mean, the numbers of veterans are

(01:23):
diminishing as no one left from the First War. Of course,
the numbers of Second War Second World War veterans is
diminishing every year as well. Ten interesting today you've got
the Brumbies and the Wellington Hurricanes are playing in the
Super Rugby comp in Canberra, which of course is the
center of commemorations today at the National War Memorial, and

(01:47):
those two teams are playing for the Alfred Shout Cup.
And Shout was a young man from Wellington who went
off to fight at the Boer War in South Africa,
stayed on and met his wife to be, was a
Sydney girl. They had a child and came back to Sydney.
Shout volunteered in nineteen fourteen when the First World War
began and he died at Lone Pine in Gallipoli two

(02:14):
days three days after his thirty third birthday. He was
awarded the Victoria Cross for Conspicuous Gallantry, one of seven
vcs awarded to Australians, because he was fighting for the
Australian Army. At this point he was still a Kiwi
and all these years later he is being honored with
this cup and I think that just really sums up
in so many ways what this day means to Australian

(02:37):
and New Zealand. You know, a Kiwi guy from Wellingcaon
who fought with the Australian Army was killed at Gallipoli
and he's remembered at this very day in the Alfred
Shout Cup. Alfred Shout, by the way, the most decorated
Australian soldier at Gallipoli, mentioned in Dispatches of Military Cross
and the Victoria Cross.

Speaker 2 (02:58):
I think it's great, isn't it How younger people are
really embracing this and you see kids, grandkids wearing their
granddad's medals and things like that. I mean, it's difficult
to keep a dry eye during one of the ceremonies
when you you know, when you reflect on our industries
and stuff, it's just, yeah.

Speaker 3 (03:13):
It isn't that exactly right? You get goosebumps. These these
little boys and girls sort of about under the weight
of granddad's medals, and you think, bloody hell, that's really
really important to have this. You know, this tradition carried
on in a way now that just wasn't even conceivable
only a few years ago. Twenty thirty years ago, no
one gave a rats were not quite but certainly nothing

(03:36):
like nothing like we see today. It's going to be
a huge day in Australia. Yeah, I do say it.
RSLs right across New Zealand. The laws of the old fellows,
old ladies and young people as well getting together and
marking this.

Speaker 2 (03:50):
Very important were doing a roaring trade.

Speaker 3 (03:51):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (03:52):
And on on on defense issues, a shadow Defense minist
is highlighting the importance of an alliance with the US
amid all these global tensions.

Speaker 3 (04:00):
Absolutely right. His name is Andrew Hasty and he's probably
one of the people who will be in line if
the Coalition loses the next elect which is on tomorrow week.
Andrew Hasty might very well step up and be the
new leader because I can't see Peter Dutton surviving if
they lose. Andrew Hasty himself, as you say, shadow Defense Minister,
he was in the Special Air Service the SAS, and

(04:22):
he served in Afghanistan. He knows the business end of
a weapon and he's made the very important point we
can't rely on the United States anymore under Donald Trump. Yes,
we have a very strong relationship with you know, our oldest, well,
our strongest ally, but certainly in this part of the world,
there's no one stronger than the United States. But he's
made the point we cannot rely on that. It's no

(04:45):
longer reliable under the stewardship of the current president. We
have to stand in our own two feet. And you know,
the opposition wheeled out its defense policy in the last
forty eight hours, but you know, hand on heart, it's
pretty incoherent. It looks like it's been knocked together on
the run in a campaign, like so much of this
campaign for the opposition has been knocked together. They've had

(05:07):
three years to get ready for this. They know, they
knew when the election was going to be called, and
they just look completely completely out of their depth. They
sort of drowning so hasty stepping up. It will not
have been lost on his colleagues that this guy actually
looks and sounds pretty good. Is it all over?

Speaker 2 (05:22):
Bar the shouting for it? I mean, I get the sense,
you know, with the rhetoric and just how much the
opposition seemed to be balling up there run towards the election.
Is here much suspense.

Speaker 3 (05:32):
About the outcome? Mate? He said that in twenty nineteen,
remember they had you know, they had a picture of
five of the Labor Party heavies that were going to
be taking over. Well didn't that end? Well, Scott Morrison
stood up and said, I believe in miracles. That he does.
He did believe in miracles. He's deeply religious, he's an
evangelical Christian and he stood there on the Saturday night

(05:53):
having won this impossible election. I believe in miracles. Labor
this time round is not taking anything for granted. All
the polls point to a Labor when but you know,
forming minority government with the help of the Greens. Well, okay,
some polls in facts and Anthony Albanezi, the Prime Minister,
is saying that Tim that I'm going to win majority government.

(06:15):
All have enough seats to govern the joint on my own,
with my with my colleagues. It's that, you know, we
just have to wait and see about that. I think
at this point it is impossible for the coalition to
win enough seats. They eat around twenty seats, nineteen seats
with twenty seats, that's a big ask even for a
well performing team. This bob looks like a rabble. It
looked like he drunks on Payday. They just lurching from
one thing to another. Honestly, hand to our heart, they do.

(06:38):
They just lurch from one from from from one bloody
crisis to another, and no one seems to know what
they're doing.

Speaker 2 (06:43):
Well, let's not say you're calling it, but we're getting
pretty close. Hey, thanks very much, Murray, good stuff, Cheers, buddy,
there we go. That's that's Murray Olds.

Speaker 1 (06:53):
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