Sky News host Paul Murray says “frequent free flyer” Defence Minister Richard Marles is the man who “desperately” needs to fly private jets rather than take limousines due to national security. “The frequent free flyer that is Richard Marles,” he said. “The man who of course desperately needs because of national security to be dropped off closer to his house. “In a VIP jet than in Melbourne. “Where he would have to sit in the back of a limousine for longer than he deserves.”

Sky News host Danica De Giorgio says children under the age of 14 in Florida are now banned from joining social media platforms after Governor Ron DeSantis recently signed a bill bringing the law into effect. “Children under 14 in Florida are now banned from joining social media platforms,” she said. “Those 14 or 15 need a parent's consent to sign up. “Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law which will fine companies up to $50,000 per violation. “The laws are in response to a string of tragic suicides in the US, teens taking their lives due to cyber-bullying.”

Sky News host Caleb Bond says a man has gone for “some kind of record” after downing 22 schooners and a shot over the course of six hours at a pub. “This could be going for some kind of record,” said. “A man … has managed to down 22 schooners in one shot. “Over the course of six hours. “If you can drink 22 schooners and take a shot and not be dead or asleep, you deserve a medal as far as I am concerned.”

Psychiatrist Dr Tanveer Ahmed says banning children from social media is “not going to work” as it is key for them to learn how to navigate digital spaces safely and be “good digital citizens”. “Banning social media is a bit like saying just say no to drugs, or never have sex, teenagers,” he said. “It is not going to work. “You need to help them navigate the world they are in and be good digital citizens. “They have to learn how to navigate it.”

Liberal Senator Hollie Hughes says there is a lot of controversy over Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s choice for the new Governor-General. Former Labor staffer Sam Mostyn was announced last week as David Hurley’s replacement. “A republican, that is the part that galls me,” she told Sky News host Caleb Bond. “This is the hypocrisy of the left, they’ll condemn the monarchy, they don’t like our form of government, they’ll talk up Peter FitzSimons and what he did for the Republican Movement. “Cushy job, nice house, I’m in – you know, forget what my value compass is, forget what I believe in, what I support for our nation.”

Child and Adolescent Psychologist Clare Rowe says banning children from social media platforms until they are older “just makes sense”. “It just makes sense, it is following the science,” she said. “We absolutely know how disastrous social media is on young children. “It is, for their mental health, their connection with peers, their sleep, their physical health, concentration, focus, it is wide-ranging. “We will look back on this … like we do with mothers smoking while they were pregnant in the 60s.”

Adobe shakes up the advertising and marketing world with a new artificial intelligence program. Plus, Brickworks' boss Lindsay Partridge on retiring and Australia's third biggest gold miner Perseus on the challenges of mining in Africa.

Tanarra Capital founder and CEO John Wylie warns property company Lendlease is facing “fundamental questions” about its future as he calls for an overhaul of the business. “We believe that Lendlease has become over time, it's become unfocused in terms of where its real competitive advantage is and right to win,” he told Sky News Business Editor Ross Greenwood. “We believe it's operating on four continents in three different industries in a whole range of quite disparate business activities in many respects, has not been a formula for success and it shows in the share price.” Mr Wylie encouraged the business to leave the international construction business and focus on Australia. “We don't have an issue with the construction business in Australia. They do a very good job and they can be a leader for interesting development projects here in Australia."

Tanarra Capital founder and CEO John Wylie has called for a “cultural reset” within property company Lendlease. Mr Wylie is an activist shareholder in the company and stressed he wanted to see Lendlease succeed. “It's such an incredibly important enabler of success, of business success in any business today to get a positive culture, to get a high performing culture, a culture of accountability and a lean, efficient, effective culture,” he told Sky News Business Editor Ross Greenwood. “The board and the CEO doing their best to try to drive a performance-based culture in this company. “We don't doubt that, but we think this needs to go further and harder and faster.”

Brickworks CEO Lindsay Partridge has criticised the high taxes on manufacturing and extensive approvals processes in Australia. Mr Partridge has been the chief executive of Australia's biggest brickmaker for 25 years and has announced his plans to retire on July 31. He noted warned against the fuel excise tax, payroll tax and land tax in Australia. “They are taxes embedded in the cost of production – that is the worst sort of tax for any manufacturer,” Mr Partridge told Sky News Business Editor Ross Greenwood. “The governments love them because nobody can see the tax but when the factory closes because it can’t pay its land tax even if it is not making any money, there is no payroll tax, that is the end of the business. “So it is very difficult in Australia.”

Freedom activist Monica Smit says people are "afraid” of digital IDs controlled by the government. Ms Smit told Sky News Australia that people need to understand that they can say no. “A lot of people have recently realised how sinister people in the government can be," she said. “I think it’s only recently that people have realised that in the wrong hands, this sort of data being in the one place is a real concern. “A lot of people aren’t going to care … but I would say to them, do you trust the government with all of your data in one place – do you trust them to keep it safe? “And I have had nobody be able to say yes to that.”

Lindsay Partridge has reflected on his time as Brickworks CEO after announcing his plans to retire. Mr Partridge has been the chief executive of Australia's biggest brickmaker for 25 years. The board acknowledged him by saying when he started the company had an asset base of $500 million, now it has $6 billion. Mark Ellenor, Brickworks Chief Operating Officer, will become the new CEO after Mr Patridge retires on July 31. “When I started in 1985 I was factory manager and we had a factory that was the worst performing factory you had ever seen,” Mr Patridge told Sky News Business Editor Ross Greenwood. “It was the dirtiest place you had ever seen and my job was to turn it around … and turned it into a really magnificent plant and from there I never looked back.”

Pastoralists and Graziers Association WA President Tony Seabrook says the “greatest threat” to Australia’s food security is the government itself. Mr Seabrook joined Sky News Australia to discuss the Labor Party’s ‘Nature Positive Plan’ which aims to reform Australia’s environmental laws. “Quite simply we feed every Australian remarkably well,” he said. “We then feed another 50 million people all around the world. “The greatest threat to food security in Australia is actually the government and bureaucracy.”

Freedom activist Monica Smit says digital ID is “going to take a while” for the government to bring in. Ms Smit told Sky News Australia that she doesn’t have high hopes for them being able to do this "anytime soon”. “But of course, how will they keep our data safe?" she told Sky News Australia. “So I think people are really concerned about all their data being in one place. “Because anything online is hackable – that is the internet.”

Pastoralists and Graziers Association WA president Tony Seabrook says Labor’s ‘Nature Positive Plan’ is just a repeat performance of the Murray – Darling Basin. The Labor government’s ‘Nature Positive Plan’ sets out the government’s commitment to reform Australia’s environmental laws. “The elites in Canberra out of touch – trying to force upon us something we didn’t ask for, we don’t need, and will cost us a huge amount in the long run,” Mr Seabrook told Sky News Australia. “It’s amazing how they dress things up – social justice, fairness, all these words they use… They wrap it around in cozy words. “But in actual fact this is almost a repeat performance of what they did with the Murray- Darling Basin plan 12 or 14 years ago.”

Sky News host James Morrow expresses concern over the Biden administration playing a “two-faced game” regarding its support for Israel as it does “absolutely nothing” to stop Iran. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh visited Tehran last month and praised Israel’s “political isolation” after the UN Security Council voted for a ceasefire. Mr Morrow warned the Biden administration is allowing Iran to become the “regional hegemon”. “It seems to me that the Biden administration in particular is playing a very two-faced game here where they're acting still supportive of Israel, still supplying arms to Israel, although that support is being progressively withdrawn, while at the same time doing absolutely nothing about stopping Iran supplying arms to Hezbollah, giving aid to Hamas,” Mr Morrow said. The Sky News host discussed this issue with former British commander Richard Kemp.

Freedom Activist Monica Smit says using cash in today’s society is “very empowering”. Ms Smit told Sky News Australia that the push to keep cash “goes across so many political spheres”. “Left and right … everyone wants to keep cash alive. “It’s so important because people don’t want to lose the freedom of being able to spend cash where they want to. “Without anybody knowing … of course, you’ve got the sinister things like obviously the government tracking you.”

Sky News host Rowan Dean says he finds it “unappealing” to see senior Australian political figures landing “cushy” United Nations jobs. Former Australian foreign minister Julie Bishop has been named UN envoy for Myanmar. Myanmar has been facing renewed violence since the army ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s government in 2021. The UN hailed Ms Bishop for her "extensive policy, legal and senior management experience". She takes over from Singaporean diplomat Noeleen Heyzer.

Sky News host Rita Panahi claims the “abysmal” voter turnout for the South Australian Voice shows Indigenous people “aren’t interested” in the state-based body. Less than 10 per cent of approximately 30,000 Indigenous people voted in the voice elections late last month. According to The Weekend Australian, senior SA Liberals believe the low voter turnout in the voice elections should compel the party to go to the 2026 state election promising to scrap it. The Liberals’ current position is to review the voice to see if it is working with the option of repealing it. “They are far more likely to vote in state, federal, council elections than they are for these bodies, which tells you it is the activist class who wants this,” Ms Panahi said.

New South Wales Premier Chris Minns reveals the state is struggling to meet housing targets as he calls on the federal government to fast-track tradies immigration into Australia. The target for New South Wales which was set out by the federal government in August will need to see an average of 75,000 new accommodations built a year over the next five years. “In the next year and a bit in New South Wales our proportion of the national figure will be extremely difficult to meet. “I want to be upfront about that. “We’re coming from a long way behind; we’ve got major constraints when it comes to financing from banks as well as labour to build the actual houses. “In the long run, it’s important to have targets and in the end, everyone needs to know the scale, particularly when it comes to completions for a major city like Sydney.”