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

TRANSCRIPT 
INTERVIEW WITH GARY ADSHEAD, ABC RADIO PERTH DRIVE

Thursday 4 September 2025

Topics: Daniel Andrews’ visit to China, Bob Katter, Net Zero.

E&OE……………………………………

GARY ADSHEAD: Andrew Hastie, he is the Member for Canning, of course, and the shadow Home Affairs spokesperson for the Coalition and joins me. G'day, Andrew.

ANDREW HASTIE: G'day, Gary. Good to chat. 

GARY ADSHEAD: Well, go on. What did you make of it? Go on straight from the heart. 

ANDREW HASTIE: Straight from the heart, I thought it was an appalling display of political judgment from Daniel Andrews, and it's making everyone question his convictions as a former Premier of a state where liberal democracy is the norm. Getting into a photo with Kim Jong Un, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping is very strange indeed. There was also a very warm handshake between himself and Xi Jinping. So strange and Australian people are right to ask questions.

GARY ADSHEAD: Well, the thing is, I mean they're our number one trading partner, Andrew, so we understand that, and we would not discourage our Prime Minister from meeting with Xi. It's the context of this, though, isn't it? This is a military show of force.

ANDREW HASTIE: This is a military parade. It's Chinese Communist Party pageantry. You mentioned our trade relationship and the need for our Prime Minister to have a relationship with the Chinese president - that's all good and well. This is something totally different. And the fact that Daniel Andrews got a personal welcome and then was happy to be photographed with those people, I just find it very, very odd indeed.

GARY ADSHEAD: Do we know why? Have you heard anything around Canberra today as to why he would be there? 

ANDREW HASTIE: No, everyone's just confused. It just seems so at odds with someone who presided over a liberal democracy, albeit a state one, in Victoria for more than a decade. I don't know why you'd want to get your photo with Vladimir Putin, who's responsible for the death of thousands of people since he launched the illegal war in Ukraine in 2022 and then, of course, Kim Jong Un who, I mean, we know his record - he's a dictator who is brutal to his own people. Why would you want to be anywhere near those guys? 

GARY ADSHEAD: Yeah, we probably don't know half of what goes on in North Korea, of course. Can I ask you, though, whether there's anything, because the Prime Minister was asked about this, as you well know in question time. I've got his answer here. It was a specific question, but this was the answer once he got it.

*EXCERPT PLAYS*

GARY ADSHEAD: It goes without saying, there was no answer to the question as to whether any assistance had been rendered to Daniel Andrews. But we also should point out, Andrew Hastie, that the Ambassador to China was nowhere in sight for this occasion.

ANDREW HASTIE: That's right. It was an elite level performance of diversion and obfuscation from the Prime Minister. He didn't answer the question, he didn't even go to any details about who would be attending the parade. We know it's a Defence attaché level official who attended the parade today - it certainly wasn't the Chinese Ambassador. And I think all Australian citizens should take their lead from the head of mission in a country. If the Australian Ambassador to China didn't attend, then Daniel Andrews should have taken that as a signal. Bob Carr, in the end, did the right thing, I think. But Daniel Andrews was obviously blind to the direction of the government, which was not to attend. 

GARY ADSHEAD: Yeah and of course, you're pointing out that Bob Carr has gone to China, we understand, for some form of ceremony there, but he's certainly did not take part in what happened today. Is it a photo that you'd want on your mantlepiece of you as a former Premier of a state, or as a former minister or former spokesperson, as you are at the moment with the Coalition, just behind Kim Jong Un?

ANDREW HASTIE: No way. Of course not. Nor would I want to be filmed clapping like a seal as the missiles roll past either. I think it's all a bit much. And again, Daniel Andrews, who knows what's going inside that guy's head. It's certainly at odds with what everyone expects of an Australian political leader of stature, which he is.

GARY ADSHEAD: Well, it goes to show, though, when he was dubbed "red Dan", it was spot on. 

ANDREW HASTIE: Look, I think a lot of people are saying, you know what, if the shoe fits, it fits. 

GARY ADSHEAD: Well, he's just proved it. Can I move on, if that's all right with you. A couple of things I wanted to run past you. Bob Katter - that outburst the other day with the Channel Nine reporter who asked a question about Mr Katter's Lebanese heritage. Should he be, or will he have to, apologise to the Parliament, or what happens from now on? 

ANDREW HASTIE: That's a really good question. That will be up to, I think, the Speaker and the government to determine what happens there. I think Bob should apologise. The bloke was asking a question. There's never a need to threaten violence. I do note, though that there are memes all over social media now with Bob. The one that made me chuckle a little bit was, you know, when the soft serve machine at McDonald's breaks down and then they cut in Bob's face, "don't say that, mate." But look, I know Bob pretty well, and he is a unique creature. He is his own brand of politics. And given his age, I think people just priced in that it was a bit of theatre. But nonetheless, you should never threaten violence in politics.

GARY ADSHEAD: Okay. Now the next one is Barnaby Joyce. He's been out speaking about what you should and shouldn't do in relation to, well – now let me correct that. There were reports that he had told you that it would be unwise to go forward and support a Private Member's Bill, of course, by Barnaby Joyce, to not support net zero by 2050. What's the truth of all of this?

ANDREW HASTIE: That was a funny report. Do as I say, not as I do. Barnaby giving me advice, apparently. I didn't comment on that article. 

GARY ADSHEAD: Did he?

ANDREW HASTIE: Look, private conversations happen between people. Everyone knows my position on net zero. I thought I laid it out pretty clearly on your program a couple of weeks back. Everyone knows what my position is, but how I'm going to vote in a hypothetical situation, I'm not going to tell the world. I'm going to keep my own counsel on this one.

GARY ADSHEAD: But more broadly, though, you accept that there could be a division, a very deep division, within the Liberal Party, if Sussan Ley says that the status quo is acceptable for her and you maintain your line?

ANDREW HASTIE: Yeah, that's right, but this is why we're having a debate. We can't shy away from the debate. The future of our country's prosperity and security is on the line. Labor is going to spend up to $1.2 to $1.5 trillion by 2030 on net zero. And if you look at the Net Zero Australia report, which has been put out by the University of Melbourne, University of Melbourne, University of Queensland and Princeton University, it just deals with the how of net zero, not the why, just the how. They say that $1.2 to $1.5 trillion by 2030 will be extracted from households and businesses in this country. That's why everyone's power bills are going up. It's as simple as that. You're paying for it through your power bills and your taxes. The question for everyone in this country is, do you want to pay more for your energy? Do you want to be less competitive as a country? Less productive? And I think the vast majority of working people out there would say, no, I want to have more disposable income in my family budget, I want to be able to invest more into my business, and I want to be competitive as a country. And that's what's on the table in the discussion around net zero. I want to frame it in terms of energy security, not climate, which is where the centre left want to keep it. They want to keep it on climate. I want to make it about Australia, our sovereignty, our energy security, our competitiveness and our future going forward.

GARY ADSHEAD: Alright, but you can't argue that if the climate's in deep trouble because of emissions, then we won't have much of a future, Andrew.

ANDREW HASTIE: Well, to that, Gary, I would say Australia produces 1.1 per cent of the world's emissions. The top three emitters in the world – China, the US and India – they comprise more than 50 per cent of the world's emissions. None of them are committed to net zero. China is committed to peaking its emissions by 2030 so they're growing year on year. And the great irony of all of this is that we produce 25 per cent of the world's coal, 20 per cent of the world's gas. If people are really committed to net zero – the Kate Chaneys of the world and other members of the Labor Party out west – put your money where your mouth is, and call for the cessation of our coal and gas exports. But don't be lecturing us, because it's hypocritical. Don't be selling those coal and gas exports to other countries and denying it to the Australian people and making us poorer. And that's the fairness argument. This is actually a question of social justice. I love flipping the tables, Gary. This is a question of social justice. Is it fair that seniors can't afford to put their heaters on during winter because we're happy to sell coal and gas to other countries, but not to our own people?

GARY ADSHEAD: Alright. Well, that's an interesting discussion again. Maybe Xi Jinping will be asked about their emissions programs by Dan Andrews, when they get together.

ANDREW HASTIE: I hope he does. 

GARY ADSHEAD: I bet he won't. Thanks for joining us. 

ANDREW HASTIE: Thanks, Gary. Cheers. 

[ENDS]