THE HON ANDREW HASTIE MP
ACTING SHADOW MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS
SHADOW MINISTER FOR HOME AFFAIRS
FEDERAL MEMBER FOR CANNING

TRANSCRIPT
INTERVIEW WITH GARY ADSHEAD, ABC RADIO PERTH

MONDAY 23 JUNE 2025 

Topics: Israel-Iran conflict, US strikes on Iran nuclear facilities.

E&OE

GARY ADSHEAD: G'day, Andrew.

ANDREW HASTIE: G'day, Gary, how are you?

GARY ADSHEAD: Good, the Prime Minister and what he had to say this morning? Was he strong enough, resolute enough?

ANDREW HASTIE: Look, I think he was too slow, too little, and too passive. What he needed to do yesterday was stand up after conducting a National Security Committee meeting and address the Australian people and explain the situation. And all we got yesterday was a statement, a very ambiguous statement, out of the Prime Minister's office. So, it's good that he came out today, but I think what we're seeing here is a passive Prime Minister. He's yet to secure a meeting with Donald Trump, and he's not going to NATO. He should be going to NATO. And I think his instincts aren't great on geopolitics. So, we're glad that the Prime Minister and Penny Wong essentially adopted our statement from yesterday today—and that is that the world cannot have a nuclear armed Iran. And that's why we support the United States strike on those three facilities.

GARY ADSHEAD: So, in terms of the PM and how he reacts, are you saying that because he needs to project to the United States at the moment because of the other issues around AUKUS? That we are, you know, on board as an ally without a doubt?

ANDREW HASTIE: Look, I just think he's not sure-footed on foreign policy. I'm wondering if it's a question of confidence for him, or competence. But yesterday was a massive day for the world, and it engaged the Australian national interest. We had to close our Embassy in Tehran last week—a hard closure—which means you basically have to destroy sensitive documents and equipment and then get out, and our diplomats had to drive to Azerbaijan. We still have 2,900 Australians in Iran. We have about 1,500 people in Israel trying to get home. There's the economic interest of oil. We import almost all of our crude and refined oil now, and 20% of the world's oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz. And then, of course, our strategic interests—we need a stable Middle East, because a secure Middle East is a secure Australia. And so, this is the sort of message that we needed to hear yesterday, and the Prime Minister was absent.

GARY ADSHEAD: So, for people who might be listening going, well hang on, it's not our fight. What do you say?

ANDREW HASTIE: I think we're a nation that has a lot of global interests, and we're a regional power, and we have people from all over the world living in Australia, and you just can't pretend that we're not engaged by this. We certainly are. And so, I think we need to see leadership at this time. You know, the world is very volatile. This could continue to escalate. So, we welcome the Prime Minister's call for de-escalation, dialogue and diplomacy, but the United States is also our closest security partner. And President Donald Trump has taken what I think is a courageous decision to neutralize Iran's nuclear program. And we know that they were pushing towards a nuclear weapon. That's the only explanation you could have for a country that is enriching uranium up to 60%. In fact, they were sanctioned by the International and Atomic Energy Agency only 10 days ago for being in breach of their Non-Proliferation Treaty obligations. So, this was very, very serious.

GARY ADSHEAD: If I asked you to put your defence hat back on, Andrew, for a minute, what questions would you have—big questions? Post that bunker-busting bomb attack that we saw over the weekend, what questions remain off the back of it?

ANDREW HASTIE: Well, I think we want a clearer sense of the battle damage sustained by the facilities, particularly at Fordow and Natanz, Fordow particularly. And I'd want to know where that 400 kilograms of 60% enriched uranium has gone. Because analysts over the weekend in the Wall Street Journal, you can look them up, the Institute for Science and International Security—a man called David Albright—he said 400 kilograms of 60% enriched uranium could give you up to about nine nuclear weapons within a month. One within a few days. So, Iran was right on the cusp. And there might be some disparity between the different assessments made by the Israelis and the United States on when the Iranians were going to break out and actually get a nuclear weapon, but the fact is that they were right on the cusp. And that's why the risk was so high, and that's why we support what the United States did yesterday.

GARY ADSHEAD: So, does that mean that the only way that Iran can come to the table is to completely clear up any questions about where that enriched uranium is?

ANDREW HASTIE: Exactly, the pathway to peace is for Iran to say, ‘yes, we will comply with the inspections regime from the IAEA. We'll do so with full transparency.’ And that should assure the world that they're not seeking a nuclear weapon. The reason why it's so important—we have nuclear powers in China, France, the UK, Pakistan, India, the US, Israel—we have nuclear powers. But Iran has been a huge sponsor of terrorism over the last 40 years, but particularly over the last two or three years with Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis. And the Supreme Leader himself has said that he's committed to wiping Israel off the map. So, you know, this is why it was so important to take this action yesterday.

GARY ADSHEAD: I noticed that at the PM’s press conference, he was asked a question by a journalist as to whether or not Australia, or any facilities here in Australia, may have played any role in helping with the attack that the US conducted in Iranian airspace. Do you have a sense or any knowledge of whether Pine Gap, or even that base that's up out of Geraldton might have been involved in that sort of operation?

ANDREW HASTIE: These are good questions, Gary. I haven't had an intelligence briefing. I'm hoping to get one in Canberra over the next few days. But I refer to what the Prime Minister said in his press conference, and he said this was a unilateral action taken by the United States. I think on the face of it, that's absolutely correct. This was a very, very tightly held operation. As Secretary Hegseth said in his press conference, very few people knew about it. Some key lawmakers in Congress were briefed, but that's standard. That's standard for the head of the Armed Services Committee or the head of the intelligence committees to be briefed, as they were before the Bin Laden raid went in in 2011. But a lot of people weren't briefed in this, and I don't think allies needed to be briefed in frankly, because that's how tightly held it was.

GARY ADSHEAD: Alright, but you wouldn't have a sense or an insight on whether or not Pine Gap's communications capabilities, or the base 30 kilometres east of Geraldton's submarine communications capabilities may have been put into play?

ANDREW HASTIE: Gary, it may well have been. It may well have been, and that would be at the top-secret level, so very and highly classified. And frankly, I don't have a problem with supporting US operations. We're a close partner. We have been for more than a century, and they are the leader of the free world. What I do want to see in the future, though, is a more mature operational framework, so that in the future when we do operations, the Australian people actually understand what capabilities the United States has here, and what shared or joint facilities there are. And this is going to be very much an important matter when Submarine Rotational Force West is established and begins from 2027 here at HMAS Stirling.

GARY ADSHEAD: Just finally on that then, our Premier, and of course Defence Industries Minister, Paul Papalia, they'll be heading to the UK to have discussions around AUKUS. Is that prudent, that we need to send high level delegations from our own State Government here to actually have that conversation, to get a sense of where the AUKUS deal is at.

ANDREW HASTIE: I think it is prudent for the Premier and Paul Papalia to go over to the UK, although it's the US who hold the keys to AUKUS. I'd say to the Premier and to Paps, head over to the US and do some door knocking up on the Hill as well. Because, the UK obviously has an interest in AUKUS, but it's going to be the US which decides the direction of AUKUS. The reason why it's important that the Premier and Paul Papalia goes is because WA is so critical. It's the roads, it's the houses, it's the infrastructure, it's the supply chains, it's the health system that needs to support nuclear submarines as well, and that all resides at the state level. So, we need more leadership from Roger Cook. He needs to get to the US after the UK as well.

GARY ADSHEAD: Maybe the Premier can get a meeting with the President before the Prime Minister.

ANDREW HASTIE: Maybe. Send Paps. I'm sure Paps would find a way in.

GARY ADSHEAD: He'll annoy them enough that he'll get through the door. Andrew Hastie, thanks very much for talking to us.

ANDREW HASTIE: No worries, Gary, thanks mate.

[ENDS]