Thread by @iMusing

good morning from unceded Darug lands☀️today on #Insiders David Speers interviews (sic) Guardian politics editor Katharine Murphy, murdoch politics editor Samantha Maiden, murdoch melbs politics editor James Campbell and opposition Senator Jane Hume.

opening spiel: the official mourning period is over along with “political ceasefire”, says Speers. The Treasurer is working on the budget. #Insiders

the government will “get cracking” on its anti-corruption commission, says Speers, and he cites global threats as a potential recession and Ukraine. And then there is the October budget. The montage is on the budget too. #Insiders

the fuel excise cut, a terrible Morrison government decision that reversed any lower emissions from price signals, is definitely expiring. Good. #Insiders

clip of Dutton saying “governments always have issues to deal with”. #Insiders

#MakingNews are submarines, again. A survey showing low enthusiasm for lifting migrant worker caps and more support for letting people in are pensions earn more income before having their age pension cut. #Insiders

Speers editorialises that “calls will only grow louder” for supporting jobs, which is code for yet more handouts of public money to bosses. #Insiders

panel. We start with the $50 billion announcement. Murphy says yes people do say the money should be spent on “investments in social services”. The budget is in structural deficit, she says. #Insiders

income tax and the strong jobs market is driving the better budget outlook, says Campbell. Inflation is going up. Commodities. Not massive improvements tho says Maiden. #Insiders

should child care support be brought forward? That horse has bolted, says Maiden. It is not simple to bring it forward. The ACCC inquiry into child care fees, says Speers, why have these increased so much? Morrison brought in a cap as SS minister, explains Maiden. #Insiders

fees would have otherwise gone up more “if you believe the [Morrison] government”, says Maiden. We need cold hard data on participation and productivity. Are the child care subsidies worth it? For who? demands Campbell. For the ECONOMY? For everyone, says Maiden. #Insiders

clip on the commodity prices “windfall”. Murphy says Jobkeeper kept people attached to their jobs and labour market scarring would have otherwise been worse. She links low unemployment to low migration. #Insiders

the structural deficit and $50 billion commodities discovery are declared funny. Oh all the money! Falling out everywhere says Campbell. He claims there is “wriggle room” on the legislated Morrison government tax cuts for rich people. #Insiders

a bizarre assessment of Angus Taylor enjoying his role and talking about the economy from Campbell. More comfortable than Frydenberg ever was, says Campbell. Murphy disagrees. When you talk to them in private, says Campbell. Is that a measure? asks Murphy. #Insiders

you are wowed by the hair, say the laydeez to Campbell, and Speers tries to bring the conversation back to serious discussion. Maiden obliges with more on childcare. Campbell is on a roll tho and claims Taylor is “nimble”. Odd, given the no-questions clip. #Insiders

clip of Chalmers on his “bread and butter” budget. Murphy says Labor are wary of [media] attacks on broken election promises due to the “rubbish” levelled at Gillard about the price on carbon. #Insiders

the Labor government have put themselves “in a complete straitjacket” says Maiden and they are pushing the hard stuff out to a second term. Murphy thinks it is absurd to even contemplate [tax cuts for the rich]. #Insiders

we briefly indulge the imponderable of whether Labor would have won if they had gone to the election saying stage three tax cuts will be repealed. “Small target” is cited with no acknowledgement of media attacks on Labor policy like abolishing franking handouts. #Insiders

interview. Does Hume think the fuel excise cut should expire? She says the ACCC has an eye on whether petrol suppliers jack prices back up. This is not the only cost of living pressure, she says. #Insiders

bit should the fuel excise be extended or expire? The expiry was Coalition policy, says Hume. We are not in government anymore. Speers insists on this point despite Hume repeating that expiry of the cut was and is their [Coalition] policy. #Insiders

they want to see government dealing with other cost of living pressures too, says Hume. Are you trying to have it both ways? Fiscal restraint and handouts [paraphrased]? Hume repeats that they are not in government and we move on. #Insiders

she thinks it is time for Labor to think about its priorities, says Hume helpfully. So they should cut some spending? Hume says something about the Coalition government growing the economy that made no sense at all. #Insiders

the one idea you put forward is more spending, says Speers. We would be interested to see the payment side of the government. The pension work bonus is a marginal spend, says Hume. It is deflationary, apparently. She claims the Coalition is constructive, or wants to be🤡#Insiders

more spending? Less spending? Speers insists. More this, less that, idk I can not follow her train of thought. Hume calls the 2019 budget “in balance” the biggest lie of the 2019 campaign. Speers says it was not, which more journos could have pointed out at the time. #Insiders

recall the claim in 2019 was “bringing the budget back into surplus”. Hume now says there was a credible plan to balance the budget after the mega spending of 2020-2022. What was your credible plan? More guff. #Insiders

childcare. Hume says the Coalition made childcare more affordable. They “invested” $11 billion a year in subsidies? Is that the figure?? Those childcare centre owners are making bank. Hume is going to “check out” the productivity claims. #Insiders

EVs. Poor policy, declares Hume. Enormously costly. You can’t prove the effect of a future policy. It is an existing tax. Onto a federal ICAC. Hume says the Coalition “will support anything to stamp out corruption in public life”, a lie. #Insiders

when an ICAC goes wrong there are terrible consequences, says Hume. It effects peoples reputations.
(It did not hamper the career of Sinodinos - Ed).
She calls [bad] anti-corruption investigations a risk to bank and bank balance, life and livelihood. #Insiders

the loss of seats by the Coalition. Are you giving up on the teal seats? Hume says the Coalition does not give up on any seat and there is no such thing as a safe seat and this is a lesson for all political parties.
Typical universalising by tories there. #Insiders

back to panel. That was mean, says Maiden to Speers. A bit brutal. Back to the economy. The government and RBA should be moving together? This is the fuel excise and inflation and cost of living plus inflation. Murphy says people are living in a high cost environment. #Insiders

it is a hard decision, says Murphy, on the fuel excise cut expiring. Maiden says Albanese wobbled in extending the pandemic leave pay, then he re-wrote history a bit (once he walked back the announcement of letting it end - the pandemic leave pay, not the fuel excise). #Insiders

at his first press conference or very early, Dutton said he wanted to see what would come of this anti-corruption commission legislation. There might potentially be some area of commonality, she says. Helen Haines gets a mention, on whistleblowers, as she should. #Insiders

what is the pathway to the legislation passing? Is it the Coalition voting with the government? Campbell says it is a mistake to rush the exposure draft/consultation. He says “the Libs want too many red lines” that the government does not want. #Insiders

a unanimous vote would tell the public that politicians all want an anti-integrity commission, says Murphy [paraphrased]. #Insiders

clip of the Putin speech and his “variety of weapons of destruction” and “all the means” and “not a bluff”. Campbell says territorial integrity is the key phrase and is he [Putin] talking about the areas of Ukraine currently subject to the sham referendums. #Insiders

he is under pressure from the right, says Campbell, who are not against the invasion of Ukraine but they “are angry that he is losing”. #Insiders

none of us have a clue what is in Vladimir Putin’s head let’s be honest, says Murphy. She is not sure if there is a hold up with sending more bushmasters or if it just to and fro. The position of China and India? Offering Putin an off-ramp? #Insiders

Wong has had a second meeting with her Chinese counterpart at the UN. Clip of Wong’s speech on abuse of the veto [paraphrased] and why Aust supports permanent security council seats for India and Japan. #Insiders

the world has changed since the five permanent seats were allocated to the victors, says Speers. Usefully - not sarco - Campbell points out the intersection of veto power and the nuclear club. But Pakistan and Israel? Undeclared, says Campbell. #Insiders

Speers says maybe Israel’s nuclear weapons are undeclared but not Pakistan and India. I think the issue here is legal expansion of nuclear arsenal under international non-proliferation agreements but I am not sure. Maiden suggests sending Kevin Rudd. #Insiders

Alex is a back to you David man. #Insiders

https://twitter.com/insidersabc/status/1573823344683761664

#FinalObservations 1 is Sam saying David stole her final obs lol #Insiders

#FinalObservations 2 is Campbell saying China has cancelled a huge number of flights and there is speculation of wider lockdowns (on twitter which you can not believe, the panel observe). #Insiders

#FinalObservations 3 is Murphy saying the ten year anniversary of Gillard’s misogyny speech is being marked by an edited collection to which she may have contributed. #Insiders

offered a second bite of the cherry, Maiden she also has thoughts on marking the misogyny speech that will keep for another day. #Insiders

the outtake is a poke at pronunciation by Dutton of the Latin for horrible year. #Insiders

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

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