SUBJECTS: Chaos and disunity within the Coalition; text messages concerning Scott Morrison; Federal election; anti-siphoning laws; free-to-air TV.
 
DAVID KOCH, HOST: Well, Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, has attempted to downplay brutal personal criticism, including leaked text messages from Barnaby Joyce that describe him as a hypocrite and a liar.
 
SCOTT MORRISON: The Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister work very closely together. And his observations of me and our relationship has completely transformed his view that he had as a backbencher at a time when his head was in a very different place.
 
KOCH: Barnaby Joyce has apologised for the message, which was sent last year, and also offered to resign. One man who is just watching the circus from the sideline is Labor Leader, Anthony Albanese. Anthony Albanese, can the PM be trusted?
 
ANTHONY ALBANESE, LEADER OF THE AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY: Good morning. Well, those closest to him have made the assessment that he cannot be. So, if the Deputy Prime Minister cannot trust the Prime Minister, why should Australians? But the issue here is, Kochie, this is such a distraction, the dysfunction and the dishonesty and the disunity means this Government is paralysed in taking the action that really does concern Australians, Issues like aged care, which is in crisis. Over 600 Australians have lost their lives. Aged care workers still cannot get PPE and access to rapid antigen tests. We have older Australians that are vulnerable, locked in their rooms, not getting enough food and water. Those are the issues that concern Australians, I think. Not this circus, as you described it.
 
KOCH: Okay. But you are stirring the pot. Your old mate, Bob Carr, the former Labor New South Wales Premier, has put another hand grenade in. He claims it was Peter Dutton who called the PM a psycho. What is your response to that? Peter Dutton has come out and really denied that vehemently.
 
ALBANESE: Look, the speculation will continue. Whoever was responsible should come forwarded and end the speculation. This is such a distraction. And this is a Government where the Prime Minister said many months ago that he had given up governing and was out there campaigning. We saw, last Friday, the rather strange circumstances of him washing a young woman's hair. These are all distractions from what the Prime Minister's job is and what the Government's job is.
 
KOCH: Did you put Bob Carr up to it?
 
ALBANESE: No.
 
KOCH: Okay. That's pretty definitive. The Coalition has released a media policy today. Two really big issues. Number one, anti-siphoning. This is where this legislation is saying that watching the Olympics has got to be on free-to-air and not be on a streaming service and force Australians to pay for it, as is the AFL Grand Final, the NRL Grand Final, the Ashes. There is no talk of extending that. Under Labor, will you extend anti-siphoning to make sure Australians don't have to pay for big sporting events?
 
ALBANESE: We think we need stronger anti-siphoning laws. Australians rely upon free -to-air TV, such as what we are talking on right now, Kochie. This is something available for all Australians. And we need to protect free-to-air TV. I can afford streaming services, but for a whole lot of Australians, they would rely upon watching Sunrise, watching sporting events. And major sporting events should all be on free-to-air TV. And this Government has just kicked this can down the road again. We need stronger rules with regard to sporting events. Every Australia should get to see it.
 
KOCH: Obviously, we are biased. But free-to-air TV hires Australians and pays taxes. Streaming services only hire a handful of Australians and don't pay tax in this country. The big issue is most Australians have a smart TV now. So, where you are on your smart TV menu is really important to viewing. In the UK, they have said, because free-to-air TV hires people and pays tax, that it must be on the top of the menu. Here in Australia, it is not going to be. So, streaming services can pay to be on the top, like a Google search. Will you follow the UK model?
 
ALBANESE: I think the UK model makes a lot of sense, Kochie. And that is something that we will look at in Government. It makes is that when people turn on the TV, the first thing that you should have access to is knowing where the free-to-air channels are. And increasingly, it is getting more and more obscure so that people are finding difficulty finding the free-to air-channels. And that is not on. Free-to-air channels do employ a whole lot of people. And they also make a major contribution. And the hint is in the title, they are free. They are free. And that means they are ubiquitous. And they are available for everyone. And we need to protect free-to-air TV, whether it be the commercial channels or whether it be ABC.
 
KOCH: Alright. Anthony Albanese, we will leave you to your popcorn as we watch the Coalition continue. We have Barnaby Joyce coming up after 7 o’clock live, so that will be interesting viewing. Thanks for your time.
 
ALBANESE: Thanks very much, Kochie. Have a great day.
 
ENDS