October 28, 2024
SHARRI MARKSON: Well, the Albanese Government is blaming Israel's war on terror for inflation staying high in Australia. This is despite the IMF releasing forecasts showing that Australia is expected to record the second highest inflation rate out of 42 countries next year. Well, my friend and colleague Erin Molan couldn't have said it better when she said this.
ERIN MOLAN: Is he saying that Jews fighting jihadists is responsible for inflation? Sounds like it. I suspect he needs to look just a little closer to home.
MARKSON: Jews fighting jihadists responsible for inflation. Unbelievable. Let's bring in now shadow Home Affairs Minister James Paterson. James, what do you think about this claim, given the IMF forecast?
JAMES PATERSON: Sharri, I thought Australia was in trouble under the Albanese Labor government, but it turns out it's even worse than I feared because Jim Chalmers' plan to bring inflation down in Australia relies on peace in the Middle East. It relies on Hamas and the Houthis and Hezbollah and Iran to stop their genocidal war on Israel. It also relies on Israel giving up on trying to free their hostages or giving up on removing Hezbollah's rockets aimed at their cities. And of course, all of this is an elaborate political ruse by the government to try and distract Australians from their own failings. But as you point out, the IMF believes we will have the second highest inflation in the world next year. Like minded democracies are all cutting interest rates, whether it's the United States or Canada or New Zealand or the United Kingdom. And in Australia, there seems like there's no hope in sight, if you listen to the RBA. So, Jim Chalmers should take responsibility for his own failings and stop trying to blaming everyone else for inflation, which is a home-grown phenomenon.
MARKSON: Well said, James. Look, we've said that the Albanese government and state governments have just failed to deal with radical Islamic hate preachers. Well now Alexi Demetriadi, and he's been doing excellent reporting in The Australian, and he's reporting that a Jewish community group is now taking one radical cleric to the Federal Court over his sermons where he's calling the Jewish community vile and treacherous people. James, why is it up to community groups to fight this hatred and incitement to violence?
PATERSON: Well, unfortunately Sharri it's because the Albanese government has abandoned the Jewish community and we now have the profoundly unjust situation where the Jewish community is expected to take its own civil action to enforce the law and deal with this hatred instead of the federal government using the criminal system to take action to protect all of the community against extremist hate preachers. It is a crime to incite violence against other communities. These people should be charged and convicted in the courts, instead of being asked to bankroll and bear the burden of their own legal action to try and deal with this problem. And it's because Labor has vacated the field.
MARKSON: The law should be there for everyone, not just for some people. And, you know, I don't want to get into the whole Candace Owens saga now, but this is one instance where Tony Burke is prepared to fight anti-Semitism, but he won't lift a finger when it's hate preachers in his own backyard. James, I want to ask you about Iran's ambassador to Australia. He's back in the news. This time for calling Israel's retaliatory strikes on Iran a terror attack. What do you make of these comments and what do you think Penny Wong should do about it?
PATERSON: Well, this is yet more inflammatory and irresponsible rhetoric from the Iranian ambassador. He's been hauled into the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade many times now for a cup of tea. He is clearly looking for another free cup of tea on the Australian taxpayer because he hasn't been intimidated and his behaviour hasn't changed on any of the previous occasions. I think the question for the Albanese government is, are there any limits for foreign ambassadors in Australia? Is there anything that they could do which would require them to be sent back home? It appears on their watch the answer is no, and they can behave with complete impunity.
MARKSON: If it was up to you, if you were in government now, if you were the Home Affairs Minister instead of Tony Burke, would you be encouraging the Iranian ambassador to be sent out?
PATERSON: Well, we have publicly previously said on multiple occasions we think he has overstayed his welcome and overstepped his mark. And addition to that, we've said that the IRGC, the Revolutionary Guard Corps, should be listed as a terrorist organisation because they are the largest sponsor of Hamas and the Houthis and Hezbollah and others in the region. So you can expect tough action from the Dutton government on the Iranian regime because they are the primary destabiliser of that region, the primary sponsor of the war on Israel.
MARKSON: Just on Iran, we saw on Saturday morning our time that Israel did carry out strikes against Iran, as we just mentioned. Do you think that at some point the international community is going to have to come together and deal with the nuclear threat?
PATERSON: Well, Israel was entirely justified in responding to those direct acts of aggression from Iran on two previous occasions. Iran previously attacked Israel only through proxies, but is now openly doing so. And it is in all of our interest that deterrence is reinforced and that Iran is put back in its box so that it is not emboldened. Because they threaten the stability of not just Israel, but the entire region and the world. And it is Israel which is bearing that burden alone, I think because the international community has failed to rein in the Iranian regime and they are behaving with impunity. And it's understandable why Israel feels, as the state most threatened by that, that they have to take action in their own self-defence.
MARKSON: Well said. Well said. James Paterson, thank you very much for your time, as always.
ENDS
