THE HON ANDREW HASTIE MP

SHADOW MINISTER FOR INDUSTRY AND SOVEREIGN CAPABILITY
FEDERAL MEMBER FOR CANNING

TRANSCRIPT

DOORSTOP, PRESS GALLERY, PARLIAMENT HOUSE

Thursday 10 September 2026

Topics: One Nation; immigration; social media; Liberal Party.

E&OE……………………………………

JOURNALIST: One Nation said they're not taking down the post. Where do we go from here?

ANDREW HASTIE: I think that shows Pauline Hanson to be weak and glass-jawed. I asked a simple request: either own your words – own the fact that you've called me a traitor – or take down the cartoon. She's done neither. I've given her an opportunity to demonstrate to Australians that she could be a prime minister and accept that she's wrong. What's she done? She's doubled down into cartoons and memes. Here's the reality for Pauline Hanson: this isn't Agro's Cartoon Connection. This is Parliament House with serious people, and the decisions we make here have consequences for millions of Australians. She's not up to the job of leading this nation, and I think the last 24 hours has made that very clear.

JOURNALIST: Will you consider taking legal action against Senator Hanson?

ANDREW HASTIE: Why would I take legal action when she's backed by Australia's richest person? I'm not a wealthy person to fight a long, drawn-out litigation, but I will impose costs politically, and that's what I'm doing today.

JOURNALIST: You said a few months ago that James Ashby called and basically threatened you and your family. Has there been anything like that since then?

ANDREW HASTIE: I didn't say he threatened me and my family. He said he was coming after me.

JOURNALIST: And has anything like that been [inaudible]?

ANDREW HASTIE: The last five months is exactly what's happened, culminating in that video that they posted on July 23, which is still pinned to the top of Pauline Hanson's X account.

JOURNALIST: Mr Hastie, Pauline Hanson says this cartoon is a joke. How do you respond to that, and perhaps explain why it's not a joke to you?

ANDREW HASTIE: Her and One Nation were crying rivers for Gina Rinehart when the ABC put a satirical video out for her, and now they've dropped that standard like hypocrites, and they're just writing this off as satire. Well, you call someone a traitor – particularly who served in this nation's uniform for 12 years and eight months, you call me a traitor eight times – guess what? You've got a fight on your hands. Moreover, I'm standing up for the veterans who don't have a voice – the 20-plus veterans who gave evidence in the Federal Court, and they did so with integrity. The question I have for Senator Hanson: are you calling them traitors as well? Because if you are, just own it. You don't get to redefine Anzac. You don't get to redefine the Profession of Arms. And there are millions of Australians in this country who expect our soldiers to perform to the highest battlefield standards if they go to war. What's she saying to them?

JOURNALIST: Are you getting enough support from your colleagues in this fight against One Nation?

ANDREW HASTIE: Yes, my colleagues have my back.

JOURNALIST: All of them?

ANDREW HASTIE: Yes, all of them.

JOURNALIST: Should they be out here? Should Angus Taylor be out here speaking next to you?

ANDREW HASTIE: This is something that's very personal with me, and I know Angus has my back. I don't need him fighting my battle here. But like I said, I'm fighting for thousands of veterans across this country who don't think Anzac should be politicised or redefined by a political party, that being One Nation.

JOURNALIST: What do we need to get out of the gas reservation policy today?

ANDREW HASTIE: We'll go through the draft exposure. Our point is that we want more gas for Australians. We want cheaper gas. We want cheaper power prices for Australians. We want to make sure that we can attract more investment that brings on supply. We want to honour existing agreements, and we also want it to be evidence-based. So, we'll work with the government, we'll have a good look at this, but in the end, we want more gas, we want cheaper gas, and we want to make Australia into an energy superpower.

JOURNALIST: Seems like there's a growing feeling within the Liberals that Angus Taylor might not be the person to turn this around against One Nation. I know you said previously that you support him. It was clear you didn't have the numbers. Has that changed at all recently?

ANDREW HASTIE: It has not changed. And sitting through detailed policy discussions yesterday – the most detailed discussions I've ever been in since I was elected 11 years ago – Angus is the right guy for the job right now. He's doing very thorough work to set this country up for success. We've got a big fight on our hands but I'm confident he can lead us through this.

JOURNALIST: You're about to have a series of party rooms in which the Digital Duty of Care will be discussed. What's your message to your party colleagues? Should they ditch it?

ANDREW HASTIE: Given Anika Wells' past form with the defective social media ban, we are very, very cautious about this legislation. Of course, we're open-minded about all legislation, and we'll review it closely. But in principle, if Anika Wells is the one setting the standards for the internet, we have very big concerns. If it's her standard, what is that? That's a political standard. We have to come up with standards that work for all Australians, regardless of your politics.

JOURNALIST: Can Labor and Liberals work together on policy for migration?

ANDREW HASTIE: We think the government has failed. Net overseas migration for four years now has been through the roof. They've lost control of our borders, and Australians are struggling to get into homes. They're struggling with infrastructure, essential services are overwhelmed, and we want to fix that. Which is why we're going to make cuts to immigration. We're going to peg immigration to housing completions every year to allow the housing market to catch up. That's our general principle. Now we're working through how you do that because it is a complex system, the immigration space. One Nation, for example, are just plucking figures out of the air. They can't even pluck the same figure, and there is a cost to all of this. That's why we're working hard to get it right.

JOURNALIST: Do you want to take that policy on when Jonno Duniam leaves?

ANDREW HASTIE: I'm happy to serve wherever Angus wants me to. I'll leave it there. Thanks.

[ENDS]