June 8, 2025 • 7 mins
Steve Price and Mike Hosking discuss the impacts of Scott Morrison’s COVID policies and support for Australian citizens.
Morrison provided relief money for countless Australians during COVID to keep families afloat during the pandemic. A move he now says has led Australians to lean on the government.
Price also discussed the use of Amazon to order machetes and large knives into Australia, and if the machete ban will work as the government intended.
LISTEN ABOVE
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
In Australia on this King's Birthday for them anyway, Steve Price,
very good morning to you. Good morning Scott Morrison. Always
is it one of those you were the Prime minister,
therefore you're bound to get an honor or has he
done something above and beyond?
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Well, it's interesting that POULI referred to there, Mike, because
it's a very reflective mood from Scott Morrison after being
announced that he picks up a companion in the Order
of Australia. I mean, yes, all ex prime ministers are
given that, given that honor, and he's no exception. But
he's very reflective in talking about his time as the
(00:37):
Prime Minister, as the Immigration Minister and as the Treasurer.
And he makes some very interesting remarks in regard to
the loss of the Liberals at the last election. Now,
Scott Morrison, of course was the PM during COVID, so
much of what he talks about is how this country
has changed since COVID, and one of the interesting things
I think one of the observations he makes is that
(01:00):
people the public post COVID are less worried about governments
that go into debt than they were pre COVID. So
pre COVID, we're always worried about balanced budgets. The Liberal
Party and the coalitioner has talked about being better money
managers than the Labor Party. He said that no longer applies.
He believes that people think that governments should pay for
(01:21):
a lot of stuff, and it doesn't matter whether they
borrow money to do it. He says economic security that
can equally mean people looking to the government to insulate
them from economic cycles. Well, so that means when he
was PM, he gave a lot of people a lot
of money to keep them afloat so the country didn't
fall over during COVID. He now believes that people have
(01:41):
become used to that sort of handouts from governments and
so they expected to happen on a regular basis.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
He's a wise man and I think he's right. And
we have the same problem here, and they certainly have
the same problem in America. But you're heading towards the
trillion dollars worth of debt, aren't you.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
We are? Indeed, and a party went to the last
election and won it handsomely without promising to bring down
budget deficits, and the deficits go on into you know
about six, seven, eight, nine years forward in the cycles
and so people go, well, okay, government's got a lot
of debts, so have I what can you do for me?
(02:18):
That's the attitude people. Now.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
It's depressing, isn't it. Amazon and the machine? How a
they're going to do that in Victoria? I mean, if
you're an Amazon, which isn't an Australian company, how do
you is the address? So if I wanted a machete,
I seen it north of the border into New South
Wales versus and bring it into Victator. How does that work?
Speaker 2 (02:34):
Well, they're in abandon the sales in Australia all over,
so not just Victoria. So Amazon goes, okay, you're online
trying to order a machete from a machete shop in
Ohio in America. Well you can't have it because you're
in Australia, so you're not going to get it. I mean,
this whole machette sales ban is never going to work.
(02:55):
And I should point out there was again another shopping
center at the beginning of the weekend. I think it
was early Friday, late Friday afternoon. Gangs of kids in
a shopping center again. Guess what armed with machetes. There's
so many of these things in the community that you're
never going to be able to get hold of them all.
I mean, you can stop selling them all you like,
(03:15):
but they are so widespread. The black market is just
so simple, and that's what these people will do.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
I'm assuming you can buy a machete if you wanted
to at a shop in downtown Melbourne. Can't you?
Speaker 2 (03:27):
Or not?
Speaker 1 (03:29):
Well a bad big night.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
Well you're not supposed to be able to buy a
bladed weapon from a hardware store. The government laughingly, the
state government's got fourteen officers statewide to go out and
make sure that no I'm selling machetes. I'm not sure
fourteen bloke's wandering around the size of Victoria is going
to make much difference.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
When you have another weekend like that with a shopping
sit How aggrieved are people on a Monday morning and
talk back radio and all that sort or was it
just so sort of you know, problematic now that you
just signed you shoulders.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
No. I think people are very genuinely upset and worried
about the youth crime crisis. I mean, because it happens
every day, I mean every night. There is some youngsters
driving cars at speeds of over two hundred kilometers an
hour down the streets, getting the police to chase them
so they can put it up on TikTok and laugh
at it with their friends. This happens night after night
after night. So where are the cars coming from? Well,
(04:24):
these kids are stealing them. On that. Two court cases
in the Children's court last week involving the children of migrants,
one family from South Africa, the other from Uganda. The
parents have actually applied to the magistrate in those two
cases they have their bail restrictions changed to allow the
parents listen to this to send those boys, and they
(04:48):
are boys back to Africa because they feel that they
would be safer back in their home country than they
would be in Melbourne. It's quite extraordinary. I mean. The
second case that I'll tell you about is a family
alleged car thief and armed robber, sought and granted court
approval for their son to return to live with relatives
in Uganda. The request was a last ditch attempt to
(05:11):
keep the boy away from the bad influences the gang
he fell in.
Speaker 1 (05:14):
It's unreal, by the way, Alban Easy, I'm reading over
the weekend with interest, so the g seventies, but you
may or may not. I guess he's going to meet
Trump whatever, and the prospect of US beef being put
back on the agenda for Australia and some of the
unions and the farmer is a little bit upset about this.
How contentious is all of this and how much does
he need to bend to Trump to sort the steel
(05:38):
if not all the other bits and pieces.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
Yeah, I think stealing aluminium is the bigger question than
the tariffs on that because we do, I mean, we
have a trade surplace with the United States. They shouldn't
be upset with us about anything. But Donald Trump doesn't
really understand that. So you'll have to argue hard on
stealing aliminium. On the question of beef, there's a bit
of misinformation. American beef can be sold in Australia. It's
(06:02):
just our biosecurity is so tough like yours is, and
so it should be that we need to know where
the beef was grown. We don't want beef grown in
Mexico or even in Canada that ends up in America
gets lord and gets frozen, gets sent here because we
don't believe that the controls in those two countries are
as tough as they should be. So the beef question
(06:22):
I think will be well relatively short. But the other
tariff question, if he gets to seed on them, it's
not guaranteed. It's on the sidelines of the G seven.
They've certainly not announced that he's got a plan trip
to Washington or an invitation to the White House.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
Isn't it? Is that a thing? Because I tell you what,
I've looked at all the people who have gone to
the White House, and he's not one of them. And
he's part of Five Eyes, and he's part of Orcus,
and he's a major trading partner. There's something weird about
that that he hasn't got on it.
Speaker 2 (06:48):
Yeah, there is, there is, And I mean the commentators
here speculated about Anthony Albnizi being too close to the Chinese.
He certainly has made lots of comments about China and
trading Australia in recent months, and so he's probably seen
being closer to China than he is to the United States,
which is a shock to most Australians because we still
rely so heavily on the American alliance.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
All Right, mate, you enjoy your day. Often we'll catch
up Wednesday. Appreciate it very much. Steep Price Out of Australia.
For more from the mic Asking Breakfast, listen live to
news talks. It'd be from six am weekdays, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio
In Australia on this King's Birthday for them anyway, Steve Price,
very good morning to you. Good morning Scott Morrison. Always
is it one of those you were the Prime minister,
therefore you're bound to get an honor or has he
done something above and beyond?
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Well, it's interesting that POULI referred to there, Mike, because
it's a very reflective mood from Scott Morrison after being
announced that he picks up a companion in the Order
of Australia. I mean, yes, all ex prime ministers are
given that, given that honor, and he's no exception. But
he's very reflective in talking about his time as the
(00:37):
Prime Minister, as the Immigration Minister and as the Treasurer.
And he makes some very interesting remarks in regard to
the loss of the Liberals at the last election. Now,
Scott Morrison, of course was the PM during COVID, so
much of what he talks about is how this country
has changed since COVID, and one of the interesting things
I think one of the observations he makes is that
(01:00):
people the public post COVID are less worried about governments
that go into debt than they were pre COVID. So
pre COVID, we're always worried about balanced budgets. The Liberal
Party and the coalitioner has talked about being better money
managers than the Labor Party. He said that no longer applies.
He believes that people think that governments should pay for
(01:21):
a lot of stuff, and it doesn't matter whether they
borrow money to do it. He says economic security that
can equally mean people looking to the government to insulate
them from economic cycles. Well, so that means when he
was PM, he gave a lot of people a lot
of money to keep them afloat so the country didn't
fall over during COVID. He now believes that people have
(01:41):
become used to that sort of handouts from governments and
so they expected to happen on a regular basis.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
He's a wise man and I think he's right. And
we have the same problem here, and they certainly have
the same problem in America. But you're heading towards the
trillion dollars worth of debt, aren't you.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
We are? Indeed, and a party went to the last
election and won it handsomely without promising to bring down
budget deficits, and the deficits go on into you know
about six, seven, eight, nine years forward in the cycles
and so people go, well, okay, government's got a lot
of debts, so have I what can you do for me?
(02:18):
That's the attitude people. Now.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
It's depressing, isn't it. Amazon and the machine? How a
they're going to do that in Victoria? I mean, if
you're an Amazon, which isn't an Australian company, how do
you is the address? So if I wanted a machete,
I seen it north of the border into New South
Wales versus and bring it into Victator. How does that work?
Speaker 2 (02:34):
Well, they're in abandon the sales in Australia all over,
so not just Victoria. So Amazon goes, okay, you're online
trying to order a machete from a machete shop in
Ohio in America. Well you can't have it because you're
in Australia, so you're not going to get it. I mean,
this whole machette sales ban is never going to work.
(02:55):
And I should point out there was again another shopping
center at the beginning of the weekend. I think it
was early Friday, late Friday afternoon. Gangs of kids in
a shopping center again. Guess what armed with machetes. There's
so many of these things in the community that you're
never going to be able to get hold of them all.
I mean, you can stop selling them all you like,
(03:15):
but they are so widespread. The black market is just
so simple, and that's what these people will do.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
I'm assuming you can buy a machete if you wanted
to at a shop in downtown Melbourne. Can't you?
Speaker 2 (03:27):
Or not?
Speaker 1 (03:29):
Well a bad big night.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
Well you're not supposed to be able to buy a
bladed weapon from a hardware store. The government laughingly, the
state government's got fourteen officers statewide to go out and
make sure that no I'm selling machetes. I'm not sure
fourteen bloke's wandering around the size of Victoria is going
to make much difference.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
When you have another weekend like that with a shopping
sit How aggrieved are people on a Monday morning and
talk back radio and all that sort or was it
just so sort of you know, problematic now that you
just signed you shoulders.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
No. I think people are very genuinely upset and worried
about the youth crime crisis. I mean, because it happens
every day, I mean every night. There is some youngsters
driving cars at speeds of over two hundred kilometers an
hour down the streets, getting the police to chase them
so they can put it up on TikTok and laugh
at it with their friends. This happens night after night
after night. So where are the cars coming from? Well,
(04:24):
these kids are stealing them. On that. Two court cases
in the Children's court last week involving the children of migrants,
one family from South Africa, the other from Uganda. The
parents have actually applied to the magistrate in those two
cases they have their bail restrictions changed to allow the
parents listen to this to send those boys, and they
(04:48):
are boys back to Africa because they feel that they
would be safer back in their home country than they
would be in Melbourne. It's quite extraordinary. I mean. The
second case that I'll tell you about is a family
alleged car thief and armed robber, sought and granted court
approval for their son to return to live with relatives
in Uganda. The request was a last ditch attempt to
(05:11):
keep the boy away from the bad influences the gang
he fell in.
Speaker 1 (05:14):
It's unreal, by the way, Alban Easy, I'm reading over
the weekend with interest, so the g seventies, but you
may or may not. I guess he's going to meet
Trump whatever, and the prospect of US beef being put
back on the agenda for Australia and some of the
unions and the farmer is a little bit upset about this.
How contentious is all of this and how much does
he need to bend to Trump to sort the steel
(05:38):
if not all the other bits and pieces.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
Yeah, I think stealing aluminium is the bigger question than
the tariffs on that because we do, I mean, we
have a trade surplace with the United States. They shouldn't
be upset with us about anything. But Donald Trump doesn't
really understand that. So you'll have to argue hard on
stealing aliminium. On the question of beef, there's a bit
of misinformation. American beef can be sold in Australia. It's
(06:02):
just our biosecurity is so tough like yours is, and
so it should be that we need to know where
the beef was grown. We don't want beef grown in
Mexico or even in Canada that ends up in America
gets lord and gets frozen, gets sent here because we
don't believe that the controls in those two countries are
as tough as they should be. So the beef question
(06:22):
I think will be well relatively short. But the other
tariff question, if he gets to seed on them, it's
not guaranteed. It's on the sidelines of the G seven.
They've certainly not announced that he's got a plan trip
to Washington or an invitation to the White House.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
Isn't it? Is that a thing? Because I tell you what,
I've looked at all the people who have gone to
the White House, and he's not one of them. And
he's part of Five Eyes, and he's part of Orcus,
and he's a major trading partner. There's something weird about
that that he hasn't got on it.
Speaker 2 (06:48):
Yeah, there is, there is, And I mean the commentators
here speculated about Anthony Albnizi being too close to the Chinese.
He certainly has made lots of comments about China and
trading Australia in recent months, and so he's probably seen
being closer to China than he is to the United States,
which is a shock to most Australians because we still
rely so heavily on the American alliance.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
All Right, mate, you enjoy your day. Often we'll catch
up Wednesday. Appreciate it very much. Steep Price Out of Australia.
For more from the mic Asking Breakfast, listen live to
news talks. It'd be from six am weekdays, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com