January 26, 2025 • 5 mins
Australians came out in their thousands yesterday when protesting to change the date of Australia Day.
Melbourne saw around 25,000 people turn out for the event, and proactive speeches calling Australia "a racist nation," and a "coalition nation."
Australian Correspondent Steve Price talks to Ryan Bridge about the protests, what the polls are indicating for this year's election, and Australian of the Year Neale Daniher.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Steve Price, our Australia correspondent, this morning. Steve, good morning,
I did my bit.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
I spent two weeks in the North Island of New
Zealand and had an absolutely fantastic time during the summer break.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
Brilliant, Very glad to hear it. That's polled. The majority
of Ossis think the opposition's got it for the election.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Yeah, and the election could be anytime between now May.
Although when you look at these numbers you'd think that
the Prime Minister Antony ALBERNIZI has been having a pretty
rough trot of it lately, is going to go as
late as possible hope that he can get an interest
rate cut out of the Reserve Bank their first meeting
due next week. If he gets that, he might go quickly,
but on these numbers he would want to stay there
(00:39):
as long as he could. The coalition now leads two
party preferred the government fifty one to forty nine. But
the number that everyone's picked up on today is that
fifty three percent of Australians who were asked this question,
and this polling took place for one week of January,
fifty three percent of Australians expect Coalition to do in
the next election. Now, that's a huge turn around, fifty
(01:01):
three to forty seven percent for Labor. If you'd ask
that question at any time last year, probably either get
a response that there's going to be a hung Parliament
and the minority government or that Labor would win. Doesn't
mean they're over the line. Lots of things can happen
between now and then. But Labour's primary vote Ryan is
down another two points to thirty one. That's the worst
(01:24):
since they were elected two and a half years a
bit ago. Coalition's sitting on thirty nine. Peter Dutton's got
a lot of work still to do. I mean, he's
got to win a lot of seats. The majority that
Labor has is pretty handy and so it'll all come
down now to the promises. But what I can tell
you Ryan is that this election will there will be
(01:44):
big differences in policy between the government and the opposition.
In the past, we've had lots of elections where policies
were pretty similar. Not this time. It's going to be
very different.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
Yeah, You've got lots of things, lots of differences between
them too. Right, let's talk about Australia Day. Happy Australia
Day for yesterday, by the way, how will the how
do the protests turn out?
Speaker 2 (02:06):
Well, no violence, but a lot of people. And if again,
if you look at pol's majority of Australian support having
our National Day on the twenty sixth of January. But
there will always be protests, particularly from the Indigenous movement.
They were out in forced, particularly in Melbourne. That was
the biggest. They're expecting thirty thousand, there's probably around twenty
(02:28):
five thousand people. I think what disappoints a lot of
Australians is that the pro Palestinian protests, which we've had
every Sunday in Melbourne since October seventh, twenty twenty three,
well they've joined up now with the anti Australian Day protests.
So that's what swells the numbers. But then you see
(02:49):
some pretty speeches that were provocative. Isn't the politest way
I can put it. One of the spokespeople came out
and said Australia racist nation, a colonial nation. They have
the remnants of representation of that. We will not allow
them to win. It was a pretty fiery speech from
(03:10):
a woman called Namoud Sammak, likened the fight for treaty
for Aboriginal people in Australia to the ceasefire in Palestine.
How they can join these two things together is completely
beyond me. And she said she would not allow Opposition
leader Peter Dutton to win it next election. Well, we've
just talked about a poll that says he probably will.
But these people will never be happy. And you can't
(03:32):
change the date because whenever you have the date, someone's
going to protest against it.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
Yeah, right, good news. On the other hand for the
Australian of the Year, what's going on here?
Speaker 2 (03:41):
Well for me also, this is a little bit personal
because I lost a friend in the last year to
motor neur own disease and he was diagnosed at the
beginning of the beginning of last year, late twenty twenty three.
He lasted twelve months and has passed away. A really
good made of mine the Australian Year is a former
Australian footballer by the name of Neil Danahert. Now he's
(04:04):
raised in excess of twenty seven million dollars toward research
intomotor ner own disease and Neil has been suffering from
this for thirteen years. So what I can't get my
head around. Really is how some of them last just
twelve months, someone else thirteen years. Neil no longer has
the ability to speak, but he has a computer that
(04:26):
can incredible into what I can't believe have his words
expressed by someone else because of his thought patterns that
go through this computer. So he's been made Australian of
the Year. His family's around him, his daughter is the
main fundraiser and they'll spend the next twelve months urging
Australians to think about people with MND and try and
(04:48):
raise more money for it. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
Oh, that's great news to hear about that, And I'm
sorry to hear about your mate.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
Yeah, it's trueful Yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
Hey, just on the other there was the Australian of
the Year. Who was that woman? She wore a T
shirt was an anti Murdock T shirt to her meeting
with Albanesi. Did you see that?
Speaker 2 (05:06):
Yes? I did. That was a morning tea. That's a
former Australian of the Year and she has been a
very vocal criticism of the Murdoch press. She had f
Murdoch on the front of a T shirt. How anybody
would let her go into a meeting wearing that is
completely beyond me. And for the Prime Minister to stand
there with a grin on his face was just beyond belief.
(05:29):
I just couldn't believe it was allowed to happen.
Speaker 1 (05:31):
Yeah, I thought the same thing, and the article was
sort of making out, oh, well he didn't know. I mean,
come on, it's in of course, you know, if securities
are better ears, he's come in the building. I mean,
you know he had to know. Yeah, Steve, thank you
for that. Steve Price, our Australia correspondent with us.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
For more from the Mic Asking Breakfast, listen live to
news talks that'd be from six am weekdays, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio.
Steve Price, our Australia correspondent, this morning. Steve, good morning,
I did my bit.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
I spent two weeks in the North Island of New
Zealand and had an absolutely fantastic time during the summer break.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
Brilliant, Very glad to hear it. That's polled. The majority
of Ossis think the opposition's got it for the election.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Yeah, and the election could be anytime between now May.
Although when you look at these numbers you'd think that
the Prime Minister Antony ALBERNIZI has been having a pretty
rough trot of it lately, is going to go as
late as possible hope that he can get an interest
rate cut out of the Reserve Bank their first meeting
due next week. If he gets that, he might go quickly,
but on these numbers he would want to stay there
(00:39):
as long as he could. The coalition now leads two
party preferred the government fifty one to forty nine. But
the number that everyone's picked up on today is that
fifty three percent of Australians who were asked this question,
and this polling took place for one week of January,
fifty three percent of Australians expect Coalition to do in
the next election. Now, that's a huge turn around, fifty
(01:01):
three to forty seven percent for Labor. If you'd ask
that question at any time last year, probably either get
a response that there's going to be a hung Parliament
and the minority government or that Labor would win. Doesn't
mean they're over the line. Lots of things can happen
between now and then. But Labour's primary vote Ryan is
down another two points to thirty one. That's the worst
(01:24):
since they were elected two and a half years a
bit ago. Coalition's sitting on thirty nine. Peter Dutton's got
a lot of work still to do. I mean, he's
got to win a lot of seats. The majority that
Labor has is pretty handy and so it'll all come
down now to the promises. But what I can tell
you Ryan is that this election will there will be
(01:44):
big differences in policy between the government and the opposition.
In the past, we've had lots of elections where policies
were pretty similar. Not this time. It's going to be
very different.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
Yeah, You've got lots of things, lots of differences between
them too. Right, let's talk about Australia Day. Happy Australia
Day for yesterday, by the way, how will the how
do the protests turn out?
Speaker 2 (02:06):
Well, no violence, but a lot of people. And if again,
if you look at pol's majority of Australian support having
our National Day on the twenty sixth of January. But
there will always be protests, particularly from the Indigenous movement.
They were out in forced, particularly in Melbourne. That was
the biggest. They're expecting thirty thousand, there's probably around twenty
(02:28):
five thousand people. I think what disappoints a lot of
Australians is that the pro Palestinian protests, which we've had
every Sunday in Melbourne since October seventh, twenty twenty three,
well they've joined up now with the anti Australian Day protests.
So that's what swells the numbers. But then you see
(02:49):
some pretty speeches that were provocative. Isn't the politest way
I can put it. One of the spokespeople came out
and said Australia racist nation, a colonial nation. They have
the remnants of representation of that. We will not allow
them to win. It was a pretty fiery speech from
(03:10):
a woman called Namoud Sammak, likened the fight for treaty
for Aboriginal people in Australia to the ceasefire in Palestine.
How they can join these two things together is completely
beyond me. And she said she would not allow Opposition
leader Peter Dutton to win it next election. Well, we've
just talked about a poll that says he probably will.
But these people will never be happy. And you can't
(03:32):
change the date because whenever you have the date, someone's
going to protest against it.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
Yeah, right, good news. On the other hand for the
Australian of the Year, what's going on here?
Speaker 2 (03:41):
Well for me also, this is a little bit personal
because I lost a friend in the last year to
motor neur own disease and he was diagnosed at the
beginning of the beginning of last year, late twenty twenty three.
He lasted twelve months and has passed away. A really
good made of mine the Australian Year is a former
Australian footballer by the name of Neil Danahert. Now he's
(04:04):
raised in excess of twenty seven million dollars toward research
intomotor ner own disease and Neil has been suffering from
this for thirteen years. So what I can't get my
head around. Really is how some of them last just
twelve months, someone else thirteen years. Neil no longer has
the ability to speak, but he has a computer that
(04:26):
can incredible into what I can't believe have his words
expressed by someone else because of his thought patterns that
go through this computer. So he's been made Australian of
the Year. His family's around him, his daughter is the
main fundraiser and they'll spend the next twelve months urging
Australians to think about people with MND and try and
(04:48):
raise more money for it. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
Oh, that's great news to hear about that, And I'm
sorry to hear about your mate.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
Yeah, it's trueful Yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
Hey, just on the other there was the Australian of
the Year. Who was that woman? She wore a T
shirt was an anti Murdock T shirt to her meeting
with Albanesi. Did you see that?
Speaker 2 (05:06):
Yes? I did. That was a morning tea. That's a
former Australian of the Year and she has been a
very vocal criticism of the Murdoch press. She had f
Murdoch on the front of a T shirt. How anybody
would let her go into a meeting wearing that is
completely beyond me. And for the Prime Minister to stand
there with a grin on his face was just beyond belief.
(05:29):
I just couldn't believe it was allowed to happen.
Speaker 1 (05:31):
Yeah, I thought the same thing, and the article was
sort of making out, oh, well he didn't know. I mean,
come on, it's in of course, you know, if securities
are better ears, he's come in the building. I mean,
you know he had to know. Yeah, Steve, thank you
for that. Steve Price, our Australia correspondent with us.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
For more from the Mic Asking Breakfast, listen live to
news talks that'd be from six am weekdays, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio.
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