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April 9, 2025
Transcript – Sky News Sharri
09 April 2025
E&OE
SHARRI MARKSON:
Welcome back, well, joining me now is Shadow Home Affairs Minister and Coalition Campaign Spokesman James Paterson. James thanks for your time. Well let's start with the debate that we've just seen tonight. Were there any standout moments for you?
JAMES PATERSON:
Sharri, what a contrast. On the one hand, Angus Taylor, someone of seriousness and substance who's thought deeply about the problems facing the Australian economy and has the ideas and the solutions to fix it, a clear economic plan. And Jim Chalmers, someone who's a smooth talker, who's got a lot of sharp lines, but he's got no solutions. He didn't even have any empathy for the damage that his government has done to the Australian people over the last three years, with the cost of living, let alone any solutions to those problems that he's caused. So I think it was a perfect contrast of the difference between the choice that Australians face at this election. A clear economic plan to get us through these difficult times, or just more of the same from Anthony Albanese and his team.
SHARRI MARKSON:
We saw the leaders debate last night and Dutton repeatedly claimed that Albanese was dishonest. Let's have a look at that if we've got it.
[CLIP START]
PETER DUTTON:
It's misleading, it's designed to scare people, and I think it's dishonest from a man who wants to be re-elected as the Prime Minister of our country. Anthony, with respect, that's a very dishonest proposition. I've heard the Prime Minister run this stunt before, with the only need your Medicare card. It's not true.
[CLIP END]
SHARRI MARKSON:
Is this a deliberate plan, James, to paint the Prime Minister as a liar?
JAMES PATERSON:
Sharri, the Prime Minister is lying so much in this campaign that he can't even keep up with his own lies. He contradicted himself in last night's debate, both admitting that we were going to spend exactly what Labor proposes to spend on Medicare and accusing us of cutting Medicare. So in a sense of helpfulness, the Coalition Campaign Headquarters has established Albo's Live Lie Tracker. We've caught him lying 23 times since the start of this election, including seven times in last night's debate. And it's a free public resource. So Labor campaign headquarters can log on and get that and keep the Prime Minister up to date with all the lies he's telling.
SHARRI MARKSON:
All right, so I guess we can expect to see more of that. Look, the Prime Minister got quite testy today when he was asked about Adam Bandt's comments, have a look.
[CLIP START]
JOURNALIST:
Can you rule out any changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax?
ANTHONY ALBANESE:
Yes. How hard is it for the 50th time? Just here, just here, just here. To form a government? What are you talking about? Sorry.
JOURNALIST:
If the Greens come to you and you need their vote to pass legislation, will you rule out changing negative gearing settings and capital gains taxes?
ANTHONY ALBANESE:
Yes, and you might have noticed, I mean you're a state correspondent, but let me explain, there are 25 votes we have in the Senate. In order to get legislation through, we're in that situation, have been in that situation for this entire term.
[CLIP END]
SHARRI MARKSON:
That's so patronising and rude, James. Does this tell you it's a sore point for the Prime Minister?
JAMES PATERSON:
The Prime Minister gets very prickly and very sensitive when he's questioned about topics that he knows are damaging and that he knows he has to lie. Every Australian knows if the Prime Minister falls short as the polls predict he will, of a majority, that there's nothing that would stop him from doing a deal with Adam Bandt and the Greens to form government. Everyone knows that. And so he can't answer that question honestly. All he can do is have that kind of patronising put-downs for journalists. But I hope the gallery keeps pressing him on this. I hope they keep asking until Australians hopefully get a straight answer.
SHARRI MARKSON:
Yep. Just on another topic, posters for the Liberal candidate for Wentworth, Ro Knox, also Tim Wilson, keep getting pulled down and stolen. This is so frustrating for their volunteers. How much of a problem is this for Liberal candidates like Ro Knox and Wilson?
JAMES PATERSON:
It's certainly frustrating, it's expensive, and it's time consuming and the thing that might interest you and your viewers, Sharri, is that this does happen from time to time in marginal, suburban seats where the contest is between the Liberal Party and the Labor Party. It does occasionally happen. But the place where it's happening most often is not in those seats. It's in Teal seats. It's Teal candidates and their supporters, including Monique Ryan's husband, who is stealing them.
SHARRI MARKSON:
I'm so sorry to interrupt you. We're out of time. I'll see you all tomorrow. And here's Paul Murray.
ENDS