The Two Jacks - Episode 144 - Angus, Epstein and the Ashes of the Washington Post
Shownotes are AI slop as usual. It's a week late cause nobody bothered to tell me it was recorded. Apologies for lack of freshness.
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Jack the Insider and Hong Kong Jack are back for Episode 144, recorded on 12 February. It's Liberal Party leadership spill eve and the boys break down whether Angus Taylor has the numbers to end Susan Ley's tenure — and what sort of baggage he'll carry into the job. From there: a landmark High Court ruling on the Catholic Church's duty of care for survivors of clergy abuse; the protests surrounding Israeli President Isaac Herzog's visit to Australia; the widening Epstein-Mandelson catastrophe engulfing Keir Starmer; the slow collapse of the Washington Post; Japan's election result and its implications for China; and a packed sports segment covering the T20 World Cup, AFL State of Origin, the Rugby World Cup opener, and the Winter Olympics.
Show Notes & Timestamps
🏛️ Liberal Party Leadership Spill
[0:00:25]
Jack the Insider opens by noting this is Liberal Party spill number four since 2013 — one per parliamentary term. Recording on the eve of the 9am spill motion, the Jacks dig into the state of play with James Patterson's resignation from the front bench seen as a signal that Angus Taylor has the numbers. Hong Kong Jack raises the "glass cliff" observation from commentator Parnell McGuinness — that Taylor may have waited for Ley to absorb the ire before seizing the job back.
[0:02:44] — Tanya Plibersek's doorstop spray is quoted at length, listing Taylor's baggage: the Jam Land scandal, dodgy water buybacks, 22% hidden energy price increases, the Clover Moore documents, and his claim to have lived near Naomi Wolf.
[0:04:35] — The Jacks discuss whether Taylor will grow or shrink in the job, drawing comparisons to the unexpected rise of John Howard. The Liberal Party room numbers are crunched — just 28 members, including 10 LNP caucusing members.
[0:07:36] — Discussion of the One Nation threat, Newspoll figures, and the argument that the Nats are more vulnerable to One Nation than the Libs. A brief but enjoyable exchange on Murray Watt vs. Malcolm Roberts at Senate estimates.
⚖️ High Court Rules on Catholic Church Duty of Care
[0:11:44]
Jack the Insider outlines a landmark High Court ruling finding the Catholic Church owed a non-delegable duty of care to a boy abused by Father Ron Pickin in 1969, aged 13, in the Newcastle-Maitland Diocese. The church had won in the NSW Supreme Court but that decision was overturned.
[0:12:47] — Hong Kong Jack reflects that the Church has been waging this legal battle for 30 years, hiding behind its labyrinthine structure to avoid liability — and that he always thought the courts would eventually "sheet the liability home."
[0:13:41] — Jack the Insider connects this to a previous High Court ruling and notes the clarity this decision now brings — not just for the Catholic Church but for all institutions with histories of child sexual abuse. The legal fraternity is expected to respond with a surge of litigation.
💬 "The courts have historically not been very keen on letting people go uncompensated because the defendants had a complicated structure." — Hong Kong Jack🇮🇱 Isaac Herzog Visit & Sydney Protests
[0:16:29]
Israeli President Isaac Herzog
