Wake Up Australia

Listen to the full show podcast with Luke Grant, filling in for Michael McLaren. 

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Luke Grant is joined by Alexander Downer, Columnist / Former foreign minister & Australian High Commissioner to the UK, who writes that the long-term consequences of this year's policy decisions could include a return to the stagflation of the 1970s.

Mr Downer writes, ‘The public assumes the current restrictions are a necessary inconvenience as we await the arrival of a vaccine.  The cavalry is on the way, and soon – in the form of a readily available, effective vaccine – it will save us all.’

‘I don’t believe it. A readily available vaccine, if it ever happens, is a long way off. It could be years. Much more realistically, therapeutic treatment for those seriously affected by COVID-19 will improve – it has already.’

‘So all this all begs a very profound question, never asked by our media: For how long are the present measures sustainable? How long can we keep opening and closing parts of the economy and paying subsidies and benefits to the community? For how long can Australia cut itself off from the outside world?’

‘In 20 years, when my grandchildren are out trying to get jobs, I wonder how they will judge the policymakers of today. They, after all, will have to live with the consequences of the decisions taken around the world this year.’

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Peter Gleeson, Courier Mail columnist & host of The Front Page on Sky News, joins Luke Grant to discuss Annastacia Palaszczuk’s tough border stance which is proven to be a vote catcher.

Mr Gleeson writes, ‘On Saturday, Jacinda Ardern went to the polls, winning a landslide election, becoming the first leader in 50 years to govern with a clear majority.’

‘It was clear that New Zealanders trusted Ms Ardern to guide them through the short and medium term, as businesses impacted by the pandemic try to survive.’

‘It’s that same narrative that Queensland Labor leader Annatasacia Palaszczuk is campaigning on right now.  Unite and recover is Labor’s theme. At a time of high anxiety and major fiscal challenges, don’t risk a detour with Deb Frecklington.’

‘Much of what Labor spins to the electorate is pure fantasy. Their jobs mantra is a mirage. They are the worst-performing job creating government in the country.’

‘They are prolific spenders, a bit like Imelda Marcos in a shoe store. If it’s there they’ll buy it and worry about the credit card at the end of the month.’

‘They have been beset with scandal after scandal, whether it be undeclared house purchases, child safety implosions or simply sports grants.’

‘But they run a great campaign, their MPs do what they’re told and they stick to their message – even though it is hollow.’

‘The Palaszczuk Government have only one message – they kept us safe. It’s a master class in how to win and until the LNP learn how it’s done, Labor will continue to outperform the conservatives.’

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Listen to the full show podcast with Luke Grant, filling in for Michael McLaren. 

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Luke Grant is joined by Dan Tehan MP, Liberal Member for Wannon, Victoria & Federal Minister for Education, who along with PM Scott Morrison sends a message to year 12 students as they begin their final examinations this week.

‘Like every Year 12 student before you, this marks the end of your formal school education.

After this, you may decide to study a university degree, learn a trade, study a vocational qualification, upskill with a microcredential, start a business or get a job.

There is no single pathway to success in life and you may find that life takes you down many different paths. That’s OK.

However you choose to pursue success in life, good luck.

COVID-19 has presented additional challenges and it has taken a lot from your final year of schooling.

Know that it won’t take your hard work or diminish the quality of your years in school. Your results will be as valuable this year as any previous year.

It may not feel like it now, but the challenges of 2020 have made you more resilient, stronger, self-motivated and adaptable. These will be useful qualities for the rest of your life.

So to the Class of 2020, good luck with your final exams and beyond.’

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Luke Grant is joined by Edward O’Donohue, Shadow Attorney General / Liberal state member for Eastern Victoria Region, who joins calls for extra time for Victoria’s Hotel Inquiry which he says has been frustrated by a Government that has used it as a shield to deflect questions about its culpability.

The repeated amnesia, changed facts, dumping of 200,000 documents submitted last minute by departmental bureaucrats and denial of knowledge by those central to this fiasco in their evidence to the Inquiry, from the Premier down, is an insult to the intelligence of Victorians and is disrespectful to the Inquiry.

“The Hotel Quarantine Inquiry has a clear job to find the truth, the nearly 800 Victorian lives lost following Daniel Andrews’ hotel quarantine fiasco demand nothing less”, says Mr O’Donohue.

“Finding the truth is more important than meeting a deadline and Daniel Andrews must give the Hotel Quarantine Inquiry the extra time it needs to finish this critical task.”

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Listen to the full show podcast with Luke Grant, filling in for Michael McLaren. 

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Luke Grant checks in with Joe Pride, trainer of Eduardo, on the eve of the Everest Cup - the richest race in Australia and richest turf race in the world.

Pride’s Eduardo, winner of the Missile Stakes and a close second to Classique Legend in The Shorts, is hoping to make history as twelve of the fastest horses compete for $15 million in prize money.

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Listen to the full show podcast with Luke Grant, filling in for Michael McLaren. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Luke Grant is joined by Nithya Reddy, the sister of Preethie Reddy who last year at age 32 was brutally murdered by her ex-boyfriend.

Ms Reddy welcomes news of a Government inquiry into coercive control and hopes that any legislative reform would be coupled with a holistic community approach, including correctional, legal and support services, as well as health and education.

"[Preethie] was the kind of person who always wanted to make things better - that was always the sentiment that everyone around her felt and knew”, says Ms Reddy.

Coercive control is a form of domestic abuse in which the perpetrator asserts dominance and control over someone through repeated patterns of abusive behaviour; this can include monitoring or surveilling their communication, preventing them from seeing family and friends, and intimidating them.

Ms Reddy has also been working with NSW Labor MP Anna Watson to design a private member’s bill, named "Preethi’s law" which was presented to Parliament in September.  

If you or someone you know is affected by sexual assault or family violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit www.1800RESPECT.org.au. In an emergency, call 000. Support is also available at Lifeline on 13 11 14 and Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636.

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