Former prime minister Scott Morrison has commended Opposition Leader Peter Dutton over his “tremendous leadership”. “I’m really pleased to see Peter Dutton and team, Sussan Ley and the whole Nats and so on doing really well," Mr Morrison told Sky News host Paul Murray. “You know they're holding this government to account … they're doing a great job, and they’ve come through some difficult times. “Peter has shown, I think, tremendous leadership since the last election.” Mr Morrison sat down with Sky News host Paul Murray to reflect on his time as Prime Minister of Australia and revealed why he believes it’s his time to retire from politics.

Sky News host Paul Murray has revealed a “fascinating poll” from the Morning Consult, which has Donald Trump in a record lead over Joe Biden. The poll shows the likely Republican presidential nominee for 2024 has a five-point lead over US President Joe Biden – 45 per cent to 40 per cent – in their latest national tracking survey. It is the largest advantage they have ever measured for Trump in head-to-head polling between the two candidates, going all the way back to 2017. “If your idea is that Trump won’t win because 80 million people still hate him, well, according to those numbers, not the case,” Mr Murray said. “However, independents are desperately important in American politics – they are the difference in many swing states.”

The “climate cult” are coming for your cup of coffee, Sky News host Liz Storer says. Swiss Banker Hubert Keller said that drinking coffee is having a negative effect on climate change. “The climate cult are coming for our coffee,” Ms Storer said. “I am not even exaggerating; I know it sounds like a nightmare. “Can you believe this?”

The list of things you can’t do is getting longer as now apparently what people feed their dogs is contributing to climate change, Sky News host James Macpherson says. “The list of things you can’t do without adding to climate change continues to grow,” Mr Macpherson said. “This headline, today, from The Australian – ‘What you feed your dog can reduce its carbon pawprint’. “I know you’re laughing already, but if you think that’s ridiculous, have a look at what it says – listen to this – ‘Owning dogs can be as harmful to the environment as flying in a private jet’. “I had a stern word to my dog about climate change this afternoon.”

Former prime minister Scott Morrison has sat down with Sky News host Paul Murray to discuss his career, legacy, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton and the Labor government's failure to deliver his government’s stage three tax cuts. Mr Morrison’s time in politics will soon be over - announcing he will retire from politics in February. He served as prime minister from August 2018 to the 2022 federal election and has been the Member for Cook since 2007. In 2013, as immigration minister, he launched Operation Sovereign Borders and stopped unauthorised boats from entering Australian waters. In 2021, Morrison – alongside former UK prime minister Boris Johnson and US President Joe Biden – announced AUKUS, a joint security pact between the countries to counter China’s dominance in the Pacific. He has lined up two jobs in the American defence private sector alongside former key Trump figures Mike Pompeo and Robert O’Brien.

Sky News host Andrew Bolt says the mention of Australia Day from Cricket Australia makes them “choke” as if it has been “banned”. “This hatred of Australia Day has become a farce,” Mr Bolt said. “Maybe our best response now is to just laugh at these jokers as they go crazy competing to be holier than thou. “Cricket Australia – they haven’t just banned Australia Day ceremonies at the Gabba Test – these guys even choke at mentioning the words Australia Day.” “It’s like it has been banned.”

Sky News host Andrew Bolt says “race games” pitting people against each other is “dividing” them into tribes in a battle for power amid the Australia Day date issue. “These race games, they are all a joke, if they weren’t so dangerous,” Mr Bolt said. “Dividing people into tribes, two races, pitting them against each other in a battle for power in a zero-sum game. “Exploiting resentments instead of looking for what unites. “Where is that going?”

Head of Australian economics at Commonwealth Bank Gareth Aird fears the government’s proposed stage three tax cuts won’t be “big enough” to fend off interest rate cuts. “Our view at the moment, based on the stage three cuts - is they won’t be big enough in size to fend off interest rate cuts later on this year. “That’s obviously subject to what could change in terms of what the governments thinking in terms of tax relief. “If for example we were to see a big tax cut delivered to lower-middle income in Australia then we would have to feed that into our economic forecast, and that could potentially change our view of when our Reserve Bank cuts rates.” The Albanese government have hinted at stage three tax cuts that will apply to “everyone.”

Drakes Supermarket Director John-Paul Drake has criticised Woolworth’s decision to cancel Australia Day as “the problem” of Australia’s duopoly and asked where companies cancelling days will “stop”. Mr Drake says his responsibility as a retailer is to provide customers with the ability to choose products they want, and has accused Woolworths of taking away customers’ choice to celebrate Australia Day. “This is the problem we face in this country about the duopoly having so much power,” Mr Drake told Sky News host Peta Credlin. “It’s really about choice, and, for us, it’s up to us as a retailer to be able to provide the products, whether the days are important to some people or not. “Where does it stop? Is Easter no longer important? “For me, as a very proud Australian, we want to make sure that we are celebrating Australia Day … we want a day that people aren’t embarrassed to celebrate Australia Day.”

Ukraine’s Ambassador to Australia Vasyl Myroshnychenko says he wants to “turn the page” from the Taipan saga and focus on what else can be provided to help Ukraine. This comes after the federal government knocked back a request from Ukraine to donate the retired MRH-90 Taipan helicopters. “I think it is an unfortunate loss,” Mr Myroshnychenko told Sky News host Steve Price. “But I would like to focus more on the positive things and we are in constant discussions with the government in terms of what else could be provided to Ukraine to help. “Because as I am sitting here, Kyiv and other cities in Ukraine are now being shot with missiles and drones at ... high intensity level and Ukraine needs support.”

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has pledged to seal the US border and “shut down the invasion” of America if re-elected in November at the presidential election. The former US president made the comments at a rally in New Hampshire ahead of state’s primary. Mr Trump is up against Nikki Haley in the race to become the official Republican presidential candidate. “We will unleash American energy like I unleashed it before,” Mr Trump said. He said he would instruct the heads of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and border patrol to begin the “largest deportation program in American history”. “Our cities are being choked – this is not sustainable,” he said.

Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson sits down with Sky News Australia host Piers Morgan to speak about his new book, ‘Starry Messenger’, which is about how “things look different from a cosmic perspective”. “I quote Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell in this book,” Mr deGrasse told Mr Morgan. “He looked back and he said: ‘You develop an instant global consciousness, a people orientation, an intense dissatisfaction with the state of the world and a compulsion to do something about it. From up there on the moon, international politics looks so petty’. “So he was feeling the cosmic perspective – when you’re that high up, you don’t see the national borders. “And we’re just one species down there on this spaceship, earth, alone, in the darkness of the universe with no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.”

Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson tells Sky News Australia host Piers Morgan why he isn’t worried about the advancement of artificial intelligence. “Just consider that right now, AI is basically everywhere, there’s no tech company that isn’t fully exploiting the value of AI to their business model,” Mr deGrasse Tyson told Mr Morgan. “In my field – which is not even a corporate entity, it’s just science – in my field, astrophysics, we’ve been using AI, at any possible point that it could advance us we use it and we’ve been using it for decades." He said any technological advancement has “always had a dark side in the hands of nefarious actors”. “So yes, AI poses an existential risk, so too did nuclear weapons – so too did weapons in general.”

University of California Political Scientist Professor Louis DeSipio says New Hampshire is “very important” for US Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley. Professor DeSipio said it is the “last state” where she has a “reasonable shot at a slight win”. “Or even a slight loss,” he told Sky News Australia. The Professor said even if former US president Donald Trump “weren’t to do as well” as expected, he’d still do very well in the next couple of states. “I sort of suspect that former president Trump will win New Hampshire pretty decisively,” he said.

University of California Political Scientist Professor Louis DeSipio says US Republican Presidential Candidate Nikki Haley “does better” against President Joe Biden than former President Donald Trump does. Mr DeSipio says the polls “look better” if Ambassador Haley were the Republican candidate. His comments come as the Republican Presidential candidates are down to Nikki Haley and Donald Trump. “If it’s a Trump-Biden rematch … the election will likely come down to a handful of states,” Mr DeSipio told Sky News Australia. “There will be a very active race for the next 10 months to see who will be the US president.

A key part of Australia’s firefighting strategy makes dangerous blazes more likely. The claims are according to a landmark research paper on prescribed burns in forests. Calls are now growing for a new approach for greater use of sophisticated tech. Research from Curtin and ANU suggests prescribed burns in forests kill tall plants, which slow fires. The process allows smaller, more flammable plants to thrive.

Sky News Australia host Piers Morgan says Ron DeSantis was “going to be the guy” at the start of the presidential race as he suspends his campaign this week. The Governor of Florida made the announcement in a video posted to social media platform X (formerly Twitter). “I thought he was pitching himself as the Trump without the baggage,” Mr Morgan said. “It turns out, none of these Republicans can stop the Trump train. “He is running them all over.”

Nationals Senator Matt Canavan says net zero was a “complete disaster” as it’s costing Australia jobs and pushing up power bills. “If you’re going to deny yourself the use of natural resources ... you’re going to end up paying more for energy,” he told Sky News host Paul Murray. “That’s what’s happening in front of your eyes. “Don’t let them hoodwink you into thinking that what you see in front of your eyes, what you can see in your power bill, is somehow wrong. “Net zero was a complete disaster – it’s costing us jobs, and it’s pushing up your power bills.”

Redbridge Group Director Simon Welsh says stage three tax cuts are in line to be a “fascinating” litmus test for Labor with Dunkley’s demographic a “challenging” seat for a government historically polling well in progressive seats. “The stage three stuff is fascinating and how this will play out over the next month – we will be watching really keenly,” he told Sky News Australia. Mr Welsh stressed the importance of communication from the Albanese government as they look to re-balance the upcoming stage three tax cuts towards the “aspirational Australians” demographic in the seat of Dunkley, which is preparing for a by-election on March 2. “If the government can reframe these tax cuts and get the communication of that right, about it being we are rebalancing this towards middle-to-lower income Australians – to those aspirational Australians out there in the suburbs,” he said. “Dunkley will be a litmus test of how the government lands its cost-of-living reform package heading into this year and if stage three is at the core of that, then it will be a perfect test.”

Writer and broadcaster Esther Krakue says Labour leader Keir Starmer has the “luxury” of labelling the anti-woke movement as “culture wars”. Keir Starmer called out the Conservative Party for “waging war” on various progressive institutions and vowed to end divisive culture wars if elected. “He shouldn’t have said anything because he is picking a battle he cannot win,” Ms Krakue told Sky News Australia host Piers Morgan. “There is a reason why people are getting upset about this ... there is a reason why when the leader of the opposition doesn’t want to say what a woman is or can’t define it – people get upset. “If you don’t want to talk about or address it – fine – but don’t effectively turn your nose up at people who take this importantly.”