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

TRANSCRIPT
DOORSTOP, PRESS GALLERY, PARLIAMENT HOUSE

Thursday 29 October 2026 

Topics: Conduct in the ADF; Digital Duty of Care Bill; One Nation; Liberal Party.

E&OE……………………………………

ANDREW HASTIE: Number one, I believe in transparency, and I think it's good that this report has been released. It's tough reading, particularly as someone who has a lot of pride in the SAS – I was a member of it for five years – but there are findings that do ring true that reflect my lived experience back from the years 2010 to 2015. It's important that we understand that period if we're ever going to learn from it.

JOURNALIST: What are the findings that ring true?

ANDREW HASTIE: Well, I haven't had an opportunity overnight to read it. It's a long report. There are almost 48 findings, I think. But certainly, there was a culture within the Regiment which I think led to some of the unlawful conduct that is alleged. What we do know is that the report doesn't deny there was unlawful conduct; it simply spreads accountability from the lowest ranks up the chain of command. I think most Australians would welcome that because they do believe that Army officers have moral responsibility for what happens underneath them, particularly within their own units.

JOURNALIST: We've heard from Krissy Barrett yesterday that kids are getting radicalised quicker and faster and faster online. Is there anything that can be done, or the Coalition look at introducing, that the government's failed to address that kind of front?

ANDREW HASTIE: I think families are most critical here. No mum and dad wants sewage being pumped into their home via the internet. That's what I worry about. I've got an 11-year-old, a 9-year-old, an almost a 5-year-old – I worry about what they see online. So, families have a really important role, and I think the government can empower parents. We can give them different tools and so forth. I don't think censorship is the right answer, which is why we opposed the Bill yesterday – the Digital Duty of Care Bill. And then there's schools as well. I'm very glad that social media is banned from schools. I'm one of those parents who think that we should get laptops out of school and we should focus on numeracy and literacy. Our NAPLAN scores have been trending down for the last two decades, as well as our PISA scores, which is the international benchmark for Australian schools. So, let's get back to the basics, and more broadly in education, let's remind kids of what's good and true and beautiful. A lot online is pretty ugly, it's pretty false, and it poisons people. We need to give kids the judgment to discern what is good and true, and what is bad and false.

JOURNALIST: The tax commissioner conceded at Estimates last night that the consultation around a credit card payments decision wasn't up to scratch. Would you like to see an instant urgent intervention here to make sure businesses can keep doing that?

ANDREW HASTIE: Yeah, absolutely. Small business keeps sending up flares, saying "we're in distress, we're in trouble", and then they get hit with this ATO ruling. There was no consultation. Sure, the government's kicked the consultation period out to a year, but they can just make a ruling today and stop this from the ATO. They want certainty otherwise, what does it look like with another year of the Albanese government in charge? Higher spending, higher taxes, power bills going through the roof. We're going to see more insolvencies from businesses, and that's just not good enough. They've got to start working for the Australian people.

JOURNALIST: Have you spoken to Basil Zempilas at all since the Secret Harbour by-election? And do you have a message for him, or do you have any concerns around the WA Liberals and other Liberals' openness to working with One Nation?

ANDREW HASTIE: Basil came to an event that I hosted in my electorate last Sunday week. We had about 100 people turn up; he was one of the guests. I was very glad to have him there. We shook hands twice. Then on the weekend at State Conference, we also had a chat. Look, Baz used to play WAFL—I think it was—he's used to a bit of hip and shoulder. We had a difference of opinion on that, and we had a bit of a push and a shove, and we're through that now. Fundamentally, though, I think the answer is that we need to come first in any election contest, whether it's the state level or the federal level. I support Jess Wilson striving to win outright in Victoria – I think that's the psychology and the mindset that the Liberal Party needs. We are in a three-cornered contest. We shouldn't be hoping that One Nation will somehow preference us. We want to get over line number one, and that's our task as the federal party. Thank you.

[ENDS]