Thread by @iMusing

good morning☀️happy Sunday. Today on #Insiders are 9fax (SMH/Age) culture writer Osman Faruqi, 9fax (AFR) columnist Jennifer Hewett, and ABC politics editor Andrew Probyn. The interview is with deputy and acting prime minister Richard Marles.

opening spiel: a turning point in Ukraine. Xi is a “great friend” of Putin. More weaponry sought from the west by Zelenskyy #Insiders

the Australian PM is in London, and now he has met the new King [of Australia]. This absurdity goes unremarked. We will cross to one of the 29 ABC staff over there later. #Insiders

#montage: journalists and politicians on Ukraine. The calls for more western weaponry again. Aust has provided $400 million “support” to Ukraine and will send more, according to a clip of Marles. Clip of Putin about his “Chinese friends”. #insiders

#MakingNews: the [Australian] prime minister has met the [Englishman and Australian] King. Clip of distilled awkwardness. Cross bench MPs say there are “sticking points” with the federal integrity commission bill. #Insiders

cross to Raf Epstein - who Speers introduces as #Insiders panellist and ABC radio Melbs host - at a queue in London. The gun carriage will be pulled by “soldiers from the Royal Navy”. Westminster Abbey, where she was crowned and married too! #Insiders

regular politics in the UK has shut down, says Epstein. Even their Labor MPs (his majesty’s loyal opposition) have been banned from saying anything but mourn porn [paraphrased]. One broke ranks and called the national grieving a distraction. Some Irish guards. #Insiders

Speers editorialises in his usual timid bothsides manner. “Some say” it is OTT. Others say it is “entirely appropriate”. Some say what Speers says amounts to less than nothing (Ed). #Insiders

they will dive into this shallow pond of formulaic discussion later,Speers promises, and starts with Ukraine. The Xi-Putin relationship - or China-Russia I guess - he says “this relationship” - is the most important to work stability, according to Probyn. #Insiders

i missed most of what Hewett said. The MOC speaks third. What to do about Taiwan? Faruqi says tensions - culturally, politically - and Speers says China is more powerful militarily these days. Probyn and Hewett revert to “ideological mission”. #Insiders

winter is coming in Ukraine. The US has sent more weaponry. Aust has committed more Bushmasters and there are Hawkeyes over there. Clip of Ukraine ambassador (I think) singing the praises of Aussie Aussie Aussie tanks and offering to test Hawkeyes in Ukraine. #Insiders

interview. Marles refs unprovoked action by Russia and its invasion of Ukraine. What about the howitzers? More settler nationalist tank talk. Are we providing more “support” (killing machines)? Yes, is the short answer. #Insiders

it s urgent, says Speers. It is happening, says Marles. There is no holdup. He describes more weapons. We are one of the biggest non-NATO contributors, says Marles, a typical Aust trait of inserting ourselves in distant wars. #Insiders

repeats “unprovoked aggression”. Russia controls a fifth of Ukrainian territory, says Marles, there is a long way to go. Speers says “they” want to restore 1999 borders ie ejecting Russia from Crimea. Do we support this? Marles says unprovoked a third time. #Insiders

so we do support getting Russia out of Crimea, says Speers. It is a matter of empowering Ukraine, says Marles. He says “we” are part of a global effort. Bit of back and forth about embassy security but I missed its significance #Insiders

back to Xi. Marles says he did not imagine Ukrainian resistance would be so fierce [paraphrased]. He summarises the Uzbekistan meeting and reverts to rules based order talk. The global this the global that, he says, meaning not-China. #Insiders

another insertion of “Australia’s interests”. Submarines. An 18 month process inherited from the previous government, says Marles. Nuclear? We have to build our strategic circumstances for trade with a long range submarine, says Marles [abbr.]. #Insiders

the next sub/more weapons announcement will be in the first part of next year, says Marles. He recites some war porn. Undersea capability blah blah. Cites UK and US and AUKUS. Will the subs be interchangeable? Put at the disposal of the US? Sovereignty, says Marles. #Insiders

interoperability means “we are more nimble and more potent as a result”, apparently. Why UK-built subs then? Hand in glove, says Marles. It is not some competition between the UK and US, we are all working together. The defence industry is competitive tho says Speers. #Insiders

god this dreary bullshit. Subs subs subs. Since the 2016 election campaign this has been dragging on. #Insiders

you are a republican. What’s your reaction? Marles does the usual, projecting ruling class interests onto public sentiment. Australian do want to show “gratitude” to QEII says Marles [paraphrased]. Gratitude for what remains unclear. #Insiders

pic of Marles at a republican BBQ 25 years ago. He responds with more white pablum. #Insiders

panel. Probyn says the Brits are very keen to be in the running for selling us submarines. It looks like we are going for the Virginia class, he says. Probyn then says “Scott Morrison has been smashed and hit over the head for everything he did in gov” in what universe? #Insiders

the point of this surreal claim is that the new government has switched to the Morrison position or something. On defence, which is always bipartisan? I missed the detail sorry. #Insiders

congratulations for saying republic during the ABC “official period of mourning” (sic), says Faruqi. He says Albanese is taking his time so as to avoid being accused of dancing on her grave. It is “unusually stilting for our discourse”, Faruqi says. #Insiders

fact check: our discourse is always stilted. It rarely gets anywhere. #Insiders

pretty much the same comment from Hewett. She says Albanese is playing it safe. That there is no republic campaign so nobody would notice if it is suspended. Tell that #MWF audiences (Ed). Hewett then says the [non-existent] movement has gone backwards. #Insiders

a First Nations Voice to parliament. It is highly problematic now, says Probyn. Both the Voice and the republic are problematic. Speers quotes Prof Davis saying the Voice comes first because the original grievance (invasion) is with the crown. #Insiders

clip of Albanese rejecting a two question referendum. If they were both put up they would both lose, says Faruqi, but that is an indictment on the way these questions are presented? The issues ARE politically related, Faruqi says. #Insiders

maybe if people were presented with an exiting campaign about being a better country a better future, says Faruqi and Hewett jumps in to pour cold water immediately. She does not think people are exited by [change ie a tory talking point. No evidence]. #Insiders

ironic that Hewett is so animatedly prosecuting the opinion that nobody cares and constitutional reform is all a big nothing. #Insiders

the $5 note. An actual big nothing. #Insiders

the national anti-corruption commission (a NACC, says Speers with relish😂). Clip of Albanese projecting blame onto the cross bench. What does it matter whether it passes in February or December? says Hewett. #Insiders

once again with exactly zero evidence Hewett opines that the passing of the NACC bill gets everyone in Parliament House excited and nobody else. I disagree, but none of us actually know either way. #Insiders

clip of RBA guv Phil Lowe. There is doubt about what will happen in May and whether the government leaves “massive change” for a second term. She says Lowe is saying it is not just about monetary policy. #Insiders

are we going to get a reformist government, asks Hewett, apparently without irony, after running her nobody cares lines about actual reform. Faruqi says people have not paid attention while interest rates were low. #Insiders

it feels like the RBA are so disconnected from “normal people’s concerns”. Probyn says the RBA has to “really dumb it down” and write its releases for “14 and 15 year olds”. Hewett says there is no single economic truth. #Insiders

the panel switch from their favourite setting, projecting their opinions onto what they want to claim that ordinary people think, to economists and business people reading the RBA entrails. #Insiders

#TalkingPictures is up. Amanda is a back to you Speersy laydee. #Insiders

https://twitter.com/insidersabc/status/1571286629892775936

#FinalObservation 1 is Faruqi saying the funeral will probably not do numbers, people are not that interested, up the Swans, and Gardening Aust got better ratings than the Royal coverage. #Insiders

#FinalObservations 2 is Hewett saying the US Reserve is pondering interest rates. #Insiders

#FinalObservations 3 is Probyn saying that deputy and acting prime minister and defence minister Richard Marles likes to be known as DPM about the defence department. No source provided. Gossip. #insiders

the outtake is Vic Liberal Party leader and his King Arthur fantasy. #Insiders

this has been another edition of watching #Insiders so you don’t have to👋🏼👋🏼👋🏼

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broken thread

https://twitter.com/imusing/status/1571284797565317121