Fox News joins Trump boycott + Australia's migration debate explained

Sacha Barbour Gatt (0:08)

Hi, Sacha Barbour Gatt with you, welcome to The Briefing. There are a few political topics that have become quite so prominent as migration, and it's an extremely noisy space. So, in today's Deep Dive, we're cutting through the political jargon and spin to bring you the facts on migration in Australia.

Dr. Abul Rizvi (0:24)

This is a really difficult balancing act, no simple answers, and anyone who tells you they've got a simple answer probably hasn't thought about the problem.

Sacha Barbour Gatt (0:31)

That's coming up in the second half of this episode, but first, it's time to get into the headlines with Chris Spyrou on Tuesday, the 22nd of September.

Chris Spyrou (0:42)

Morning, Sacha. Let's start in New York, where Anthony Albanese has joined 21 other world leaders in urgently calling for global guardrails to keep AI under human control. The statement, signed by Australia, Canada, Singapore, Finland, Norway and the European Commission, is a show of middle power solidarity while the US and China continue to fight for global dominance of the tech. It warns that efforts to reign the technology in are failing, and he's calling for tech companies to be upfront about their safety protocols and for governments to agree on common standards. The group's also floating a new UN body that could step in when a country crosses the line.

Sacha Barbour Gatt (1:19)

And AI is just one item on a very packed agenda. The wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, as well as the threat of climate change, are all in focus as well, as leaders gather for the UN General Assembly this week. Now, the PM is opening Climate Week today with a major speech. His message will be that the world can't just keep adapting to worsening climate disasters, and he'll point to how Australia is bracing for a summer of extreme heat, bushfires and floods. He will also talk up Australia's renewable potential backed by gas. He'll say a rapid rollout of the tech and take up of things like household batteries will help us hit our targets of cutting emissions by two-thirds by 2030, seeing the evidence last summer when renewables powered about half the grid.

Chris Spyrou (2:03)

But some climate scientists say he faces a credibility test. Australia is still backing fossil fuel projects and we're the world's third biggest fossil fuel exporter. There's also no date from the government as to when we will phase out coal, if we will phase out coal. So they're saying, you know, it's well and good that he's out and about talking about Australia being a climate leader and we're doing all this stuff. But they're like, we just don't have, you know, the government action to support that idea.

He'll also talk about Australia's role in the Pacific, where, you know, we know that some of those nations are the most vulnerable to climate change. And he'll say how Australia is leading the way with discussions there. A reminder, it wasn't too long ago that he or Australia was criticized or called climate vandals by our Pacific neighbours. So again, that disconnect between what he's saying and what others are saying about him.

Sacha Barbour Gatt (2:55)

Something else that's happened and it's actually a moment that's gone viral, was this really blunt question put to Albo.

It was after he launched the campaign for Australia to get a seat on the UN Security Council. That vote's not happening till mid-2028, but yesterday was the start of the bid and the long running campaign to get that. Now, he went viral after having this exchange with a journo.

SPEAKER_4 (3:20)

Prime Minister, here in New York, on Wednesday night, you will receive an award for being a global citizen.

Don't you feel like a bit of a fraud accepting this award when at home, you screwed up the response to the worst massacre since Port Arthur? In the polls, you are taking Labor to one point shy of Julia Gillard when you rolled her, and your net negatives are worse than Scott Morrison. No.

Sacha Barbour Gatt (3:43)

That was it.

Chris Spyrou (3:44)

No.

Sacha Barbour Gatt (3:45)

No.

Chris Spyrou (3:45)

Also, for all the things to pin him on, re-global citizenship. That doesn't sound like one that goes against you for global citizenship. That's just one to say that you're, well, in her opinion, just a bad PM.

Sacha Barbour Gatt (3:56)

Yeah. It's interesting reading the comments. Some people were like, oh, give the journal an award. And other people were like, that was a really classy response to a really weird, dumb question. So interesting to see that go viral and that conversation happen online.