Interview with Natalie Barr, Sunrise
25 February 2025
NATALIE BARR: Peter Dutton is in the spotlight this morning after unusual share trading activity during the global financial crisis, records reveal that shares in major banks were bought hours before the Rudd Government laid out a $4 billion stimulus package in January 2009. Labor is now questioning whether Dutton had prior knowledge before the trades were made. The Opposition Leader has unequivocally denied those claims, saying he had quote ‘no access to any sensitive information on the matter’. For their take, let's bring in Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Murray Watt and Shadow Finance Minister Senator Jane Hume. Good morning to both of you. Jane, let's start with you. Let's go back to 2008, 2009, Peter Dutton had not bought shares, apparently, according to the records, for about three years. Then he has advised that he bought shares in three big banks at a very low price, and bang, Bob's your uncle. The government does a big bailout, and then the shares spike, and then he sells at a very high price. Can you say that is not suss?
JANE HUME: Nat, what I can say is that Peter Dutton was in the opposition at the time when this government policy was announced. Of course he wasn't briefed. This is a smear campaign from a desperate government that have run out of ideas and think that they are going to lose the election. So they have made these accusations under the shroud of parliamentary privilege in Senate Estimates, the ultimate coward's castle, because they have run out of ideas, they have run out of excuses, and they have run out of time. They realise that every policy that they announce is met with crickets from the electorate who are poorer under Labor, who have seen their standards of living go backwards. They have run out of things to do so they have decided to go the man. That’s all labor know how to do. They are the grubbiest people you will ever come across and Murray, you are the king grub.v
NATALIE BARR: Okay, getting quite serious this morning.
MURRAY WATT: That’s quite an accusation.
NATALIE BARR: Let's go back to this one. Jane, you're right. He was in opposition, but Labor was regularly briefing the Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull, was Shadow Cabinet informed? Jane, was Shadow Cabinet informed of that bailout that the government was about to make?
JANE HUME: I'm afraid, Nat, that I was not in government at that time and that doesn't sound like the sort of thing that a government would do to an opposition.
NATALIE BARR (INTERRUPTS): I know, you were working for Deutsche Bank at the time, but this is a big story and Peter Dutton is, you know, in the spotlight here.
JANE HUME: But I’ll tell you who would know. Anthony Albanese, and he has been playing cricket and sending out his minions to do this grubby, dirty work. They are smearing a man of integrity, and yet they won't do it in public, because they know that it would be defamatory. That’s what is going on here.
NATALIE BARR: Okay Jane, your leader is in the spotlight today. Don't tell me that you guys haven't talked about this overnight. Was Shadow Cabinet informed about the bailout about to happen?
JANE HUME: Nat, I can assure you that Peter Dutton has done nothing improper here, nothing improper.
NATALIE BARR (INTERRUPTS): Was Shadow Cabinet informed? Have you talked about it?
JANE HUME: I can’t tell you that, I can’t tell you that. I don’t know, I wasn’t in Government at the time.
NATALIE BARR: Has no one talked about it after the story broke yesterday.
JANE HUME: This is a smear campaign from a Government that has run out of ideas, has run out of excuses, it’s about to be run out of office and it deserves to be so and any time they mention Peter Dutton’s name, our vote goes up, because they have gone so low here, they are without integrity and hopefully soon, they will be without a job.
NATALIE BARR: Okay, okay. Murray, do you have a comment on this?
MURRAY WATT: Well, just to, yeah. I mean, Jane is obviously very defensive about this story, talking over the top of you there, Nat. I mean, there are some really simple answers, simple questions for Peter to answer that he still hasn't answered. You know, how many shares did he trade? Miraculously, the day before the government, at the time, bailed out the banks with a massive bailout. How much profit did he make on those share trades and most importantly, was he aware that the government was about to bail out the banks when he made these share trades? This is a guy who had never before bought banking shares in his time in Parliament.
JANE HUME: What are you accusing him of Murray? Why don’t you say it out loud without parliamentary privilege?
MURRAY WATT: Well, I’m asking, Jane, you're very defensive about this question. But these are very serious questions that Peter Dutton, who wants to be the Prime Minister of Australia, needs to answer. He put out a vague, tricky statement yesterday. This is suss. This is suss Nat.
JANE HUME: You are so grubby. You attack his integrity because you have nothing else. Using Government resources to attack people.
MURRAY WATT: Jane keeps talking over the top of people because she’s worried about this.
NATALIE BARR: Murray, is it a grubby smear campaign from the Government?
MURRAY WATT: No, these are legitimate questions to be asking about someone who wants to be the Prime Minister of Australia. We've seen another story break today about the $30 million of property buying and selling that Peter Dutton has been engaged in while he's been in Parliament.
JANE HUME: Wow.
MURRAY WATT: Maybe that's why he doesn't understand the cost of living pressures that people are under, and maybe that's why he has opposed the housing fund and wants to cut the housing fund.
NATALIE BARR: I don’t know if there is anything wrong with people buying and selling houses though if he's declared most of them.
JANE HUME: You are a grub Murray Watt.
MURRAY WATT: He hasn't declared, he hasn't declared all of them. He hasn't declared all of them.
JANE HUME: Keep mentioning his name Murray, keep mentioning his name. Because every time you do, our vote goes up. You're disgusting.
MURRAY WATT: It goes to the point about why Peter Dutton has opposed every cost of living relief we provided, and while he said he's going to cut the housing fund that is currently on the way to building 30,000 homes for Australia.
JANE HUME: Oh for heaven's sakes, standards have gone backwards. Living standards have gone backwards under you. People are poorer under Labor. That's what they're telling you at the polls and this is all you've got.
MURRAY WATT: You voted against every cost of living measure, you voted against every wage rise. You voted against every cost of living measure, every energy measure.
JANE HUME: We are poorer under you. What a grub.
NATALIE BARR: We've had a chance. Okay, I think it's very hot this morning, we'll leave it at that, and we'll see you next week.