Interview with Karl Stefanovic – Channel Nine Today Show

KARL STEFANOVIC, HOST: Welcome back to the show on this Monday morning. There's chaos in the Middle east this morning as Iran and Israel trade fresh missile strikes. Donald Trump reacting to the conflict by vowing to make the Middle east great again. Joining us to discuss today's headlines is Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations Amanda Rishworth and NSW Liberal Senator Andrew Bragg. Good morning, guys. Nice to see you. Busy weekend, wasn't it? And terrible. Amanda, do you support Israel's war with Iran?

AMANDA RISHWORTH, MINISTER FOR EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS: I would say that obviously it's really alarming, the escalation. Of course, Israel has a right to defend itself, but we would be urging all parties for dialogue and de-escalation. There needs to be tensions brought down here because the consequences will be significant if it spills over into a wider conflict. Of course, the personal consequences are significant. Obviously, there'd be a lot of concern for Australians both in Israel and Iran. And of course, the advice there, is shelter in place and watch Smartraveller.

KARL STEFANOVIC: It's incredibly delicate even to get involved on the sidelines diplomatically. Iran is a state sponsor of terror, as you know. Why would Penny Wong ring her Iranian counterpart?

AMANDA RISHWORTH: Well, I think there has been a dialogue both with the Israeli Government and Iran because I think we want to see a de-escalation of this. We want to see restraint shown by Iran and we want to see dialogue actually happening. I think that's in the interest across the globe, particularly the region, to see this conflict de-escalate. And I think most, most leaders around the world are urging for that.

KARL STEFANOVIC: I'm not sure that they'll be listening to little old Australia. Andrew, this war will have a global impact. Oil prices look like they're going up. The markets are jittery. It could have an impact on inflation. Where does the Coalition stand?

ANDREW BRAGG, LIBERAL SENATOR: Well, I think we have to be frank and honest about what's at stake here. And what's at stake is that Iran wants a nuclear weapon. It wants to wipe Israel off the map. If we were in Israel's shoes, we would not tolerate a country nearby us getting a nuclear weapon. And so I think Israel is trying to stop that from happening. That's a good thing for humanity because these guys are the worst regime anywhere on the planet. These are seriously bad people and they should never be given an opportunity to have a nuclear weapon.

KARL STEFANOVIC: Amanda, do you think Iranians are bad people?

AMANDA RISHWORTH: I would say that what is important now is the conflict at hand. And what we don't want to see is this spillover into a broader regional conflict. Of course, we condemn any strikes on populated areas and have called on Iran to show restraint. But I think what's important here is that we do see a de-escalation of tensions here, because if this spills over, it has much bigger ramifications.

KARL STEFANOVIC: Amanda, is AUKUS safe for the PM's meeting with Donald Trump? Is it safe?

AMANDA RISHWORTH: There has been broad bipartisan support, both across the Congress in the US, but also with the Trump administration. The AUKUS arrangements actually are very beneficial for defence industries here in Australia, but also in the US. I don't think we should be too alarmed by a review. That's exactly what the UK did. So, obviously this will be an issue that will be raised by the Prime Minister, but I think there's broad support for the benefits that AUKUS brings.

KARL STEFANOVIC: Ok, Andrew, Amazon's announced a massive deal with Australia and not everyone's happy about it. I guess cutting a deal with a company that secures valuable public contracts and avoids tax is going to wind people up. I mean, they made $6.6 billion last year. Guess how much tax they paid? $125 million. That's going to get a lot of people hot under the collar.

ANDREW BRAGG: Look, I'm not sure how much tax they paid in Australia, and that's a fair question, but the real point here is that artificial intelligence and new technologies could actually be a great opportunity for Australia to lift its very sluggish productivity if it's done in the right way. And I think the Government's got a very questionable commitment to the whole idea of it. I mean, Tim Ayres, who's the Industry Minister, was saying the other day that he wants to put the unions in charge of AI. I mean, that's a recipe to destroy our competitive position. And, you know, we welcome foreign investment, we want the jobs, but we've got to look like we actually are committed to the future, rather than just wanting to put the unions in charge of everything.

KARL STEFANOVIC: Amanda. I mean, that's not a lot of tax that they're paying. They are avoiding taxes, there's no doubt about that. You don't have a problem with that?

AMANDA RISHWORTH: This investment, which has been announced to be around $20 billion to uplift our data storage AI capability is a really important investment for jobs, but also importantly for our economy.

KARL STEFANOVIC: You don't care about the tax?

AMANDA RISHWORTH: What I would say is any company operating in Australia has to abide by Australian law, whether that is in workplace relations, whether that is tax arrangements, There's Australian law, and if you operate here, you've got to abide by it. But I think the capability uplift. And I would just say about Andrew's comments, it is really important that workers are a part of the discussion about how AI is going to affect their jobs along with business. It's important discussion to have and he shouldn't undermine discussion.

KARL STEFANOVIC: We have to go. But I just wanted to raise this one really quickly. What about these guys in Great Britain, the Great Britain rowing team. So, they've released this shot here that has used AI whether that's been controlled by the unions or not, I'm not sure. However, a Frenchman will decide whether or not the rowing goes ahead in Rockhampton, which I think is perfectly acceptable. Rocky is a great place and the Fitzroy River is one of the great parts of the world. Have the Brits got soft Amanda?

AMANDA RISHWORTH: Look, I can't comment on the British team, but I'm sure that you could go in and maybe go rowing and demonstrate to them there's nothing to be afraid of.

KARL STEFANOVIC: Yeah, I can do that. Andrew, what about you? I mean, come on.

ANDREW BRAGG: Well, Karl, I'm not sure whether you have a vested interest here, mate, but I think the good people of NSW be very happy to host the rowing in Sydney in Penrith if need be.

KARL STEFANOVIC: Stay out and let Queensland host the Olympics. Good on you guys. Thank you so much. Appreciate it.