THE HON ANDREW HASTIE MP
SHADOW MINISTER FOR HOME AFFAIRS

TRANSCRIPT
INTERVIEW WITH PETA CREDLIN, SKY NEWS

THURSDAY 29 MAY 2025
Topics: Net Zero, appointment as Shadow Minister for Home Affairs.
E&OE

PETA CREDLIN: I'm pleased to say the new Shadow Home Affairs Minister, Andrew Hastie, joins me now. Andrew, I think you're spot on with those comments, and I think Australians absolutely want an adult debate on this – we don't just want the politicians to debate it, we want a community debate as well. But you also infer that, and you exposed, I guess, the hypocrisy that lies at the heart of the Budget. On one hand, we're bringing in all these export revenues because we sell our coal and our gas and our uranium, so we think it's worthy to sell. But we're stopping Australians using it here and we spend all these billions to go green.

ANDREW HASTIE: Good evening, Peta. That's right, there's massive hypocrisy at the heart of the net zero economy. The world's three largest emitters – China, India and the USA – are pretty much walking away from net zero. The US has walked away through President Trump with the executive order that he gave in January to walk away from Paris. China has only committed to net zero by 2060 but only after they peak by 2030 with their emissions. And India is aiming for 2070. Both China and India are growing in their coal uptake, and we were the biggest exporter of coal last year in 2024 – almost 56 billion US dollars. So the hypocrisy is this: whilst we're denying Australians our own abundant fuels for power, we're sending them to China and India, particularly, who are actually growing their emissions. And so if people are really serious about net zero, they should ban our coal exports, and they should be honest with the Australian people about what that would do with our tax revenue and how we wouldn't be able to fund the NDIS, our healthcare and a whole range of other essential government services.

PETA CREDLIN: And we're not just selling our coal and our gas to these countries, we're actually making them stronger. I mean, they are growing their manufacturing capability. They are making defence steel out of our iron ore. They are powering their economies, and they're growing their own national security. At the same time here, we're weakening our capacity. I mean, we're about to shut down in South Australia, the only place that can make rail lines, so we'll not be able to make rail lines in Australia. We've got issues with fertiliser, with urea. We've got other issues with aluminium, which you know are looming, and we've just basically closed down the last manufacturer of architectural glass in Australia. All because we're ticking the box when we're only one per cent of the problem, and the rest of the world is doing whatever they like.

ANDREW HASTIE: That's right. We're forcing the cost of this on Australian families, seniors, businesses and industry and our businesses are either closing down or going offshore because they can't compete anymore. So we're de-industrialising at a rapid rate. We've got to start fighting for the Australian people. Our job as the Opposition is to give an alternative policy to Labor's and as long as we accept their terms – which is net zero is where we want to go – we'll never be able to provide an alternative. That's why I think we first of all have to take the moral high ground and call out these hypocrites. We're more than happy to sell coal and gas and uranium to the world's biggest emitters and yet force increased poverty on Australian families and a drop in living standards because they’re paying through their nose to pay the cross subsidy the renewables sector are getting from our government policy.

PETA CREDLIN: I know you've got a portfolio it includes immigration, I'll get to that in a moment. But I really sense, Andrew here, a fire in your belly in a way I haven't seen since you got into Parliament. So please tell me that this is how you were going to operate this term, that you are actually going to be a bit more forthright, because I think Australians are desperate for some leadership here.

ANDREW HASTIE: They are desperate for some leadership, and we're going to give it as part of the Coalition under Sussan Ley, and I'm going to be a strong voice for it. As the Shadow Minister for Home Affairs, I really do care about this country. I care about our sovereignty – it's territorial, it's digital sovereignty, but it's also our economic sovereignty. If we can't generate reliable, affordable baseload power, if we're completely dependent upon countries like China for renewables in solar and wind, we will not be a sovereign country. And so this is really critical. Energy security is national security, and this is an area that I'm going to work very closely with Dan Tehan on, because it's absolutely essential that we get it right and we provide an alternative for the Australian people. When they go to the polls in three years’ time, they should be thinking, the Coalition they're fighting for us, and they want to deliver cheaper, affordable power for my family.

PETA CREDLIN: Well, let's go another area – immigration. We're open in having a debate about the quantum and how quickly they come. So the overall numbers, you were different than Labor and how quickly they come, you were different than Labor. But when it came to the debate about the values, what sort of Australians are we importing, do they want to embrace our values, would they defend our values? That's a debate that's starting to happen overseas, I think places like the UK, sadly, in some areas and some regions are too far gone. But are we going to start to have that, that fight in Australia, or that debate in Australia? Because, you know, we have a non-discriminatory immigration system, fine, and I do not think we should discriminate on race. But by God, Andrew, we should discriminate on values. You don't meet our values; you don't get to come.

ANDREW HASTIE: Look, I think it's a very basic entry requirement that people who want to live in our country, which is a very special country, sign up to our values. You've got to learn English, because that's our common language that we speak together as one people. And you've got to share our values, which are democratic, and which believe in the dignity of the individual, respect for your neighbour, participating in this great democracy. Because Australian democracy, whilst being one of the oldest continuing democracies, will only continue to go forth if we have a population engaged in the political process, who believe in our common values and who are willing to protect and defend them, and that's the sort of people that we want joining our country. So our policy is non-discriminatory, it's colour blind, but we have to insist on some fundamentals, and it has to be values first and foremost.

PETA CREDLIN: Congratulations on your appointment again to the frontbench and I also should say, unlike most of your colleagues around the country, you got to swing to you in your WA seat of Canning, so congratulations there to your campaign team and yourself and your family. Thank you, Andrew.

[ENDS]