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

TRANSCRIPT
INTERVIEW WITH KIERAN GILBERT, NEWS24

Wednesday 16 September 2026

Topics:.

E&OE……………………………………

KIERAN GILBERT: Joining me live in the studio is the Shadow Industry and Sovereign Capability Minister Andrew Hastie. Andrew, thanks for your time. Finally, we are going to hear from Tony Burke tomorrow. Do you welcome that, that there will be a bit of a bit of detail to what the government's planning on this front?

ANDREW HASTIE: Yes, we do. There are two crises facing Australia right now: high inflation caused by the Labor government and high immigration, which is caused by the Labor government. They've lost control of their borders. Six weeks ago, Tony Burke cancelled his National Press Club speech. I'm glad it's coming tomorrow. ABS data will be dropping as well, and we look forward to hearing what the government has to say.

KIERAN GILBERT: Yeah, the net overseas migration number also out tomorrow, so we get a bit of a report card too on where they're at. Do you see this as a then a catalyst for your side to formalise your plan?

ANDREW HASTIE: Angus Taylor made it clear where we're going back in his Budget in Reply speech in May. We said we're going to bring the NOM below the amount of homes built every year. Last year was about 170,000 homes – we're going to come below that. But there are a lot of trade-offs here and consequences from making cuts. We're going to make the cuts, but we want to get it right, which is why we're going through a very deliberate process under Angus Taylor.

KIERAN GILBERT: Because there is a risk if we go too far. I've got Bill Shorten coming up shortly, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Canberra. He's obviously not happy with what One Nation's suggesting – slashing the international student number from 291,000 to 115,000. What sort of impact does that have on the higher education sector?

ANDREW HASTIE: Well, it's going to be big, but the bottom line still remains. Our population has grown by 1.9 million over the last four years – 1.5 of that has come from immigration – a lot of those are students. Now, there's a balancing act to be done here, but we're going through our own costings, and there will be budgetary, economic, and human impacts. We want to get the balance right.

KIERAN GILBERT: Well, if you're at universities, and this, to be fair, is part of One Nation's policy that under their 115,000 cap, they will favour unis that house their own students, that will provide accommodation. So, I mean, if they're providing the accommodation for the students, that's got to be part of the mix, doesn't it?

ANDREW HASTIE: Absolutely, it has to be part of the mix. Part of the problem is the pressure on housing, infrastructure, and essential services. If the universities can find a way to house their students and relieve the demand pressure – that's a good thing. Nonetheless, we still think that temporary visas need to be cut right back, and that's what we're going to be doing.

KIERAN GILBERT: On a few different other fronts, last week when you came on, you didn't miss. It really led to a week-long coverage of what you said on this show last week calling Pauline Hanson Barnaby Joyce lying cowards. The feedback I've got from your colleagues is that it's given them a shot in the arm.

ANDREW HASTIE: Great.

KIERAN GILBERT: They've said okay, well let's get on with it. Let's take the threat to us as well, i.e. the Liberal Party – if you want to survive, you've got to take them on.

ANDREW HASTIE: That's right. People are still thinking of the two-party preferred system as it was 20 years ago. There are no safe seats. There are no red or blue seats. We've got to win 34 to win government, and we've got to start thinking about this as a three-corner contest. The Liberal Party or the Coalition – the Liberal and National parties – need to be number one on people's ballot. That's what we've got to strive for.

KIERAN GILBERT: Is that the feedback you've been getting as well from your constituents? Or voters have been saying, good on you, we want you to fight for us?

ANDREW HASTIE: Over the weekend, I had to go to a funeral in Sydney. I spent time in Sydney, and people are just hungry for leadership, and they want the Liberal Party to succeed. So, I got a lot of support from people out on the street and if they're watching, thanks for stopping and backing us in.

KIERAN GILBERT: Yeah, it's interesting how much in politics, passion or raw authenticity actually does matter.

ANDREW HASTIE: Well, the feedback I have got from people in the business community is that we can't afford another three years of Labor – “you've got to win, so get the job done, we know you guys have the economic credentials, do the work, get the settings right, win the election”.

KIERAN GILBERT: We'll see how it goes. Andrew Hastie, thanks for making the time. We'll talk to you soon.

ANDREW HASTIE: Thanks, Kieran.

[ENDS]