RUBY:

Os, welcome to the studio.

OSMAN:

Thank you Ruby. It's normally not... nah let’s start that again. What's the way to start this?
[The Culture Theme Music Starts]

OSMAN:

If you've been listening to the podcast over the last few days, you've probably heard my voice talking about a brand new, very exciting project that we've been working on. You've seen me, Ruby, slowly losing my mind as on top of putting at 7am, I've been trying to launch a brand new podcast here with Schwartz.

RUBY:

So I have seen a lot of work going on in the background to make this show happen over the past few weeks and maybe even months. Watching it all come together, watching the art come in.

OSMAN:

You had a lot of fun making fun of me on these very strange photo shoots and seeing my face emerge on the back of mugs and phone cases.

RUBY:

So tell me what it actually is.

OSMAN:

So the podcast is called The Culture. And if I'm honest, like, you know, I love this job and I love 7am. I love working with you. But this podcast, The Culture is something that I've actually wanted to do for a very, very long time. It's a weekly 30ish minute deep dive into the world of pop culture and entertainment. Every week, we're going to take something. It could be an album. It could be a TV show. It could be a movie. Could be a genre. It could be just a moment happening in the land of pop culture. And we will dissect it. We'll unpack it. We'll talk about the good and the bad, we’ll look at the way that art and culture intersects with society and the world around us. And we'll be doing it with some of the best critics in the country from The Saturday Paper, The Monthly and all over the internet.

RUBY:

Right. So it's you every week and the guest of your choice.

OSMAN:

Basically, I think I've got maybe the second best job in the world after yours where I just get to pick very smart, cool people. People like Anwen Crawford, the music critic for The Monthly, Shaad D'Souza, the music critic for The Saturday Paper, Christos Tsiolkas, who writes about film for the Paper and the very first episode which is dropping today, that's why we're having this chat on Friday, is Sarah Krasnostein, who is an extremely acclaimed and accomplished author. She's the bestselling author of The Trauma Cleaner, the fantastic book. She's also The Saturday Paper's newest TV critic. So our first episode is a chat, me chatting with her about true crime.

RUBY:

OK, so Osman Faruqi, host of brand new podcast, The Culture. How do we listen to it?

OSMAN:

So it'll be in your feeds right now. Search for The Culture in your favourite podcast app. New episodes will be dropping every Friday morning and following us is the best way to stay in touch. Thanks for letting me plug it on your show Ruby.

RUBY:

No worries.
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RUBY:

From Schwartz Media, I’m Ruby Jones, this is 7am.
Victoria has been plunged back into lockdown, the state’s fourth since the start of the pandemic. But this time there’s one big difference: vaccines that were supposed to help keep us safe and avoid outbreaks like this are now available, but in Australia the uptake has been slow.

Today, columnist for The Saturday Paper, Paul Bongiorno, on how Victoria entered lockdown and who shoulders the blame.

RUBY:

Paul, Melbourne has been plunged back into lockdown. Can we start by walking through how we got here?

PAUL:

Well Ruby, this latest outbreak actually seems to have its origins in a hotel quarantine leak from South Australia. A positive Covid case travelled to Melbourne after acquiring the virus in hotel quarantine in South Australia. It seemed like that case hadn’t infected any others in Victoria, and there was no community transmission associated with them.

Archival Tape -- Unidentified Reporter:

“Good morning we begin with some breaking news: Victoria recording 6 new cases of COVID-19, the government saying the next 24 hours are crucial.”

PAUL:

But things changed this week when new cases started emerging.

Archival Tape -- Unidentified Reporter:

“Victoria's Health Department is investigating two likely positive cases of Covid-19 in Melbourne’s northern suburbs...”

PAUL:

And while the exact link to that first case hasn’t been clearly identified, health officials still believe that’s almost certainly the source. On Wednesday we learned that the outbreak in Melbourne had risen to 15 cases, and the list of exposure sites kept building over the day.

Archival Tape -- Unidentified Reporter:

“Victoria has confirmed 11 new Covid infections in the past 24 hours, which could mean greater restrictions or another lockdown.”

PAUL:

Concerns started to be aired about a potential third wave, and the prospect of a lockdown.

Archival Tape -- Unidentified Reporter:

“Good evening, Melbourne's bracing for a snap lockdown with the coming hours described as critical.”

PAUL:

And as of Thursday the number of positive cases had increased into the high 20s and exposure sites were spread across Melbourne, and even into regional Victoria.

Archival Tape -- James Merlino:

“Morning all, okay thanks everyone, thanks for coming along this morning, I’ve got a bit to do so bear with me and then I’ll hand over to The Minister for Health and Professor Sutton as well.”

PAUL:

That fast spread, and the fear it could have gone even further, is really what has prompted this latest lockdown.

Archival Tape -- James Merlino:

“From 11:59pm tonight, Victoria will enter a seven day circuit breaker lockdown and these restrictions will be in place until 11:59 on Thursday, the 3rd of June…”

PAUL:

But Ruby, as quickly as all of this has developed, so too have the questions as to who is to blame.

RUBY:

Mm so let’s talk about that. Because last year when Melbourne experienced the longest lockdown in the country, a lot of the blame was put on the state government’s management of hotel quarantine and contact tracing. But this time who is responsible, Paul?

PAUL:

Well, the federal opposition started squarely pointing the finger at Scott Morrison.

Archival Tape -- Anthony Albanese:

“How many more outbreaks do there have to be until the Prime Minister understands that he needs to do his job”

PAUL:

Labor leader, Anthony Albanese, put the responsibility on the shoulders of the Morrison Government.

Archival Tape -- Anthony Albanese:

“...and deliver a safe, national, purpose-built quarantine system and fix his bungled vaccine rollout?''

PAUL:

Deputy Labor leader, Richard Marles - a Victorian - reminded the prime minister that the outbreak in his home state was linked to a man who caught the virus while in hotel quarantine in Adelaide.

Archival Tape -- Richard Marles:

“If the prime minister had fulfilled his responsibility for creating a safe, national, purpose-built quarantine system, wouldn’t Australians be safer today?”

PAUL:

But it was a question from Labor frontbencher Mark Butler that prompted Morrison to lash out. On the slow pace of the vaccine rollout, Butler said:

Archival Tape -- Mark Butler:

“The Prime Minister promised Australians last year we would be at the front of the queue. Prime Minister, isn't it true that we're so far back, we can't even see the front of the queue?"

RUBY:

And so, Paul, what was Scott Morrison’s response?

PAUL:

Morrison blustered and fulminated against Labor for daring to question the government in this time of crisis.

Archival Tape -- Scott Morrison:

“And those opposite, Mr Speaker, those opposite may want to retreat into whinging and complaining and undermining the government as we fight the virus…”

PAUL:

And Morrison lashed out at his Covid-19 critics, slamming what he called the "whingers and complainers" in the Labor Party who have accused him of failing to roll out the vaccines fast enough.

Archival Tape -- Scott Morrison:

"I don't know what world those sleepwalkers opposite are living in, Mr Speaker. I don't know what world they're living in.”

PAUL:

The PM claimed that the country had enjoyed safety from this pandemic and an economic recovery like few, if any, other countries in the world.

Archival Tape -- Scott Morrison:

But I know every Australian is very happy to be living in Australia during the course of this pandemic.”

RUBY:

And what do you think, Paul, when it comes to working out who is responsible when these outbreaks from hotel quarantine occur? Because it's not just in Melbourne, these outbreaks have become a kind of semi-regular occurrence across most of the states and territories.

PAUL:

Well Ruby, hotel quarantine was never fit for purpose. There’s no doubt the Morrison government’s neglect in replicating the Northern Territory Howard Springs Quarantine Facility arrangement around the states is a major factor in stranding 30,000 Australians overseas. Failing to repatriate them by last Christmas along with 4 million vaccinations by the end April, are two of the government’s biggest broken promises about the pandemic. And it wouldn’t be such a potential catastrophe if we’d addressed the vaccine rollout. But we haven’t. And every time Labor asked a vaccine question in parliament Morrison did his disappearing trick...

Archival Tape -- Unidentified Speaker:

“My question is to the Prime Minister.”

PAUL:

...handballing the answers to health minister Greg Hunt. Now Greg Hunt makes Pollyanna look like a pessimist. Hunt’s answers amount to ‘everything is terrific and getting better’.

Archival Tape -- Greg Hunt:

“I am happy to say that Australia has just had a record vaccination day which I am sure would be welcomed by those on the opposition benches.”

PAUL:

But the Health Minister was not able to say how many Victorians have so far received the vaccination. And there’s simply no answer to the fact put on the front page of the Melbourne Herald Sun that Australia’s roll out is so slow it is ranked 113th in the world.

RUBY:

We'll be back after this.

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RUBY:

Paul, we’ve been talking about the Covid-19 outbreak in Victoria, and the criticism that’s been levelled against Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, for not ensuring a better quarantine system by now, or vaccine rollout. He seems to be defending his position at this point - but how confident do you really think he is?

PAUL:

Oh, he's certainly coming out swinging, but there's no doubt he's feeling the heat and is looking for ways to deflect and distract. And luckily for him, just such an opportunity presented itself. Scott Morrison this week found a very useful ally in an unlikely place, and that was in the person of opposition member for the New South Wales seat of Hunter, Joel Fitzgibbon.

RUBY:

So what exactly has Joel Fitzgibbon been doing?

PAUL:

Ruby, the veteran Labor member for the coal mining electorates that encompasses much of the state seat of Upper Hunter, went on a media blitz early in the week when Labour failed to win the state by-election.

Archival Tape -- Unidentified Reporter:

“Joel Fitzgibbon, welcome back to breakfast.”

Archival Tape -- Unidentified Reporter:

“Joel Fitzgibbon joined me. He must surely know...”

Archival Tape -- Unidentified Reporter:

“Joel Fitzgibbon, good morning to you.”

Archival Tape -- Joel Fitzgibbon:

“Good morning, Michael.”

Archival Tape -- Unidentified Reporter:

“How bad was it for the Labour Party?”

PAUL:

He roundly criticised his own side..

Archival Tape -- Joel Fitzgibbon:

“...our brand is in trouble and if we're not prepared to do something about it, the brand will go the same way as the Kodak brand went.”

PAUL:

He said the swing against his own hand-picked coal miner candidate and The Nationals retaining it was a wake up call for Anthony Albanese and his mates in Canberra.

Archival Tape -- Joel Fitzgibbon:

“It's pretty frustrating, the thought about sticking around to lose yet another election. So, my message to the party is listen to the wakeup call you received on the weekend.”

PAUL:

The Labour MP on Radio National raised the prospect of not running again unless the party got the message and started talking more about jobs and job security. At least, he says, as much as we do about climate. It was a godsend for Morrison and meant the prime minister had something else to latch on to besides yet more evidence of quarantine failure with a population left more vulnerable by a desperately slow vaccine rollout.

RUBY:

So, what you’re saying Paul is that Joel Fitzgibbon and his criticisms of Labor are a useful thing for the PM because they’re a distraction from questions about how the federal government is handling the pandemic. How is Scott Morrison capitalising on that?

PAUL:

Well, let me give you one example. In Parliament this week, when the independent MP Zali Stigall, who you might remember, wrested Tony Abbott's blue ribbon seat of Warringah from him on a platform of climate change action, well, when she dared to question Morrison's commitment to net zero emissions, the prime minister bristled.

Archival Tape -- Scott Morrison:

“We will not allow our path to a net zero to take their jobs and rob this country of heavy industry.”

PAUL:

Somewhat theatrically, he singled out Fitzgibbon and said, sadly, those who sit alongside him on the Labour benches don't agree with him.

Archival Tape -- Scott Morrison:

“Those opposite don't agree with us, and I respect the fact that the member for Warringah also doesn't agree with us, Mr Speaker, but there is one member opposite who does agree with us, and that's the member for Hunter.”

RUBY:

So where does all of this leave us? We've got another lockdown in Melbourne, which is leading to criticism of the federal government's handling of quarantine and also the vaccine rollout, but federal Labour seems to be embroiled in its own internal battles at the moment, so it doesn't really feel like there is much pressure on Scott Morrison to change his approach to handling the pandemic.

PAUL:

The facts, Ruby, are catching up with Scott Morrison and there's even criticism of the federal government's response to the pandemic now coming in the Murdoch papers. More to the point, Labour's criticisms are based firmly on the dreadful reality of a situation the government itself promised wouldn't happen. And even now, Ruby, not all Australians in disability care have been vaccinated. And according to the government's own timetable, that was supposed to have happened by April.

Archival Tape -- James Merlino:

“If we had an alternative to hotel for this particular variant of concern, we would not be here today. If we had the Commonwealth vaccine programme effectively rolled out, we may well not be here today talking about these circuit breaker restrictions that we must impose to keep our community safe.”

RUBY:

Paul, thank you so much for your time.

PAUL:

Thank you, Ruby. Stay safe.

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RUBY:

Also in the news today…

Victorians entering New South Wales will be required to follow the lockdown restrictions being enforced in Victoria for the next seven days. The New South Wales Health department also said that Victorians should not be travelling to New South Wales unless they are permitted to do so.

And the Australian Federal Court has ruled that Environment Minister, Sussan Ley, has a legal duty not to cause harm to young people of Australia by exacerbating climate change when approving coal mining projects. The landmark decision followed a case brought by a group of eight young people on behalf of "all young Australians" that was filed in September last year.

7am is a daily show from The Monthly and The Saturday Paper. Our senior producer is Ruby Schwartz. The show is produced by Elle Marsh, Atticus Bastow, Michelle Macklem, and Cinnamon Nippard.

Brian Campeau mixes the show. Our editor is Osman Faruqi. Erik Jensen is our editor-in-chief.

Our theme music is by Ned Beckley and Josh Hogan of Envelope Audio.

New episodes of 7am are released every weekday morning. Follow us in your favourite podcast app, to make sure you don’t miss out.

I’m Ruby Jones, see ya next week.

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