Game of Thrones fan quizzes Shorten

Bill Shorten has learnt he is forking out too much for his pay television subscription, while at his 27th town hall meeting overnight in Perth.

Leader of the Opposition Bill Shorten

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has fielded questions from voters in WA's newly created seat of Burt. (AAP)

While voters at a Perth town hall meeting heard from Bill Shorten, the Labor leader discovered he was paying too much for his pay television subscription.

The opposition leader fielded 15 questions from voters in WA's newly created seat of Burt, during his 27th people's forum at Armadale on Monday night.

The 300-strong crowd as made up of mostly seniors, baby boomers and a handful of families with small children.

Many were rusted on Labor voters but some were curious fence-sitters.

A young software engineer named James asked Mr Shorten about cracking down on internet piracy using metadata.

He wanted to know whether Labor had plans to encourage international service providers to make movies and TV shows more affordable for Australians.

"Frankly $30 a month for Foxtel for Game of Thrones is ridiculous," James said.

Mr Shorten responded that he understood the argument that illegal downloads steal artist's intellectual property.

"I'm not going to name my own kids but I didn't know how easy it was to do," he said.

Mr Shorten said he'd be looking into getting a better Foxtel deal after James' question.

"It's quite distressing," he said, adding that he doesn't like foreign companies treating Australians like a soft touch to charge higher prices.

Later, he went on to defend Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull against an accusation that he was a member of the Fabian Society.

Despite Burt being landlocked in Perth's south eastern suburbs, some in the crowd had water on their minds.

Two participants, including a man who said he pays $150,000 in tax a year working in oil and gas, raised concerns about foreign seafarers undercutting Australian wages and conditions.

Mr Shorten then delivered a brief history lesson on seafarers during World War II.

He praised Labor candidate Matt Keough for not cancelling the evening's event, despite a tough day for his family attending his grandfather's funeral.

Mr Keough, who unsuccessfully ran in the neighbouring seat of Canning in last year's by-election, is having a second tilt at federal politics.


Share

2 min read

Published

Source: AAP



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world