THE HON ANDREW HASTIE MP
SHADOW MINISTER FOR INDUSTRY AND SOVEREIGN CAPABILITY
FEDERAL MEMBER FOR CANNING

TRANSCRIPT
DOORSTOP, LAND FORCES, PERTH CONVENTION AND EXHIBITION CENTRE

Thursday 8 October 2026

Topics: Land Forces; Defence spending; Labor’s sell-off of Defence bases; immigration.

E&OE……………………………………

JOURNALIST: We've heard a lot about Land Forces here in Perth in the lead up to this event. Can we get your initial reaction to how Perth put on this show?

ANDREW HASTIE: Perth has done a great job. It's great to see so many people here. Great to see so many foreign militaries represented and companies from around the world. I think it's good for Perth. It shows that we are on the map, not just with resources, but also with defence technology, particularly. And I think the state government has done a good job with security. I was in Melbourne a couple of years ago, and thankfully you don't have protesters throwing urine at you as you enter the place, which is great.

JOURNALIST: That is something that's been criticised by the Greens here – the $11.5 million spent on security – given that protesters do have a peaceful history. Did you feel safe and what are the differences with the police response here compared to Melbourne?

ANDREW HASTIE: Well, if the Greens want to save on cost, then they should stop organising crazy protesters to come to these events. It's as simple as that. We could use that $11.5 million in other ways, but unfortunately, because of the Greens and other unhinged protesters, we've got to take security measures. So, the state government is doing its job.

JOURNALIST: There are obviously a lot of things on display at this event. AI has been a particular topic of conversation and how it links in defence. Are you happy with how those two areas are interacting at the moment, and what more does the federal government need to do?

ANDREW HASTIE: Yeah, I've spent the last two days in Sydney as a member of the Joint Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence. I think AI is here – it's here to stay – and Australia needs to harness its potential in the economy, but also in defence as well. It's got to work for the Australian people, it's always got to have humans in control of it, and I think it's also got to operate under our rule of law, so it's really important that we get it right.

JOURNALIST: There are a lot of people that obviously have concerns about AI and how it's used in everyday life, never mind in defence. How do you think the government is doing in terms of managing just how much impact it can have at the moment?

ANDREW HASTIE: At the moment, the AI we have here in Australia is coming from the United States via our submarine cables. I believe that we need sovereign AI, which means we need frontier labs from the US to invest here in Australia. I think Perth would be a great place to set up some frontier labs. Let's see what happens. But the committee is working through that, and we'll have a report shortly.

JOURNALIST: And the federal Liberal Party's plan to continue to drop migration numbers, it could have some impacts here in WA. We already have a skilled worker shortage. How do you kind of combat that as a federal member, but being from here in WA, where it's so important?

ANDREW HASTIE: This is about rebalancing immigration numbers. We've got to cut them. We've got to cut them, and we've got to also raise the standards. The universities have become visa mills, and what we're doing is we're abolishing Temporary Graduate Visas, and we're making sure that we get more skilled migrants. So, I think Western Australia is going to be okay. We need aged care workers, healthcare workers in the regions, particularly, and our policy accounts for that. We're going to be delivering for the Australian people and working in their interests.

JOURNALIST: The WA government is trying to make defence its second biggest industry. Do you think they're going about it the right way? There's been a lot of MOUs signed in the past few days, but former defence minister Linda Reynolds says she thinks there needs to be some more action. Would you agree?

ANDREW HASTIE: Yeah, absolutely, more action – more action from the federal government. We need to increase our Defence spend, which is why the Coalition is committed to three per cent by the end of the decade. We've also got to preserve what we have here. The Labor government is attacking the ADF's identity in WA with the sell-off of Irwin and Leeuwin Barracks. I think that's a disgrace. I think we should absolutely have more Reserves in WA. And also, the Leeuwin Barracks – why would we sell that off? Historically, it's a really important base, and moreover, if we've got a housing shortage, why not build Defence housing on Leeuwin Estate for American and Australian families who are going to need those houses? Otherwise, they're going to be competing directly with other Western Australian families.

JOURNALIST: Just to other infrastructure questions, the Northwest Coast is pretty vulnerable at the moment. We've got two bare bases, not much in between Darwin and Henderson, aside from those two bases. Is the federal government spending enough or focusing enough on WA's northwest coast?

ANDREW HASTIE: We are not spending enough, full stop, in the Defence Budget. The Labor government is failing its duty to the Australian people. We need to increase the Defence spend and I will always argue for greater investment in Western Australia, not just with AUKUS, but up and down our coastline. I want to see more Reserve presence, particularly in the south and the greater south, but also in the northwest as well, where we have a lot of critical minerals, and that needs to be protected. We can't just rely on the Pilbara regiment to do the heavy lifting in the event of some sort of conflict.

JOURNALIST: And Richard Marles said yesterday that the upgrades they're doing there at the moment are hardening those bases. What's your take on that?

ANDREW HASTIE: Well, I think the evidence is in the Budget, and they're not spending enough. I think it's a I think it's an absolute disgrace the Albanese government's sell off of our Defence bases and estate across this country, but particularly in Western Australia. I want to see more investment in Defence. I want to see more investment in our uniformed personnel, and that means we start here in WA.

JOURNALIST: So, what specifically would you like to see on the northwest coast?

ANDREW HASTIE: I'd like to see more infrastructure, so we can surge forces in there. I'd like to see more people, potentially, up in the northwest. I think there's a lot of opportunity, and particularly with the critical minerals boom that's going to come with AI, we need to have a greater security presence in the northwest. Also, drones as well – there's a real opportunity to become world leaders in that technology.

[ENDS]