THE HON ANDREW HASTIE MP

SHADOW MINISTER FOR HOME AFFAIRS

FEDERAL MEMBER FOR CANNING

TRANSCRIPT

INTERVIEW WITH LAURA JAYES, AM AGENDA, SKY NEWS

Monday 23 June 2025

E&OE

LAURA JAYES: Andrew, really appreciate it, first of all, what is your response to this operation from the US over the weekend?

ANDREW HASTIE: Pleasure to be with you, Laura. Well, the Coalition supports this military action by the United States. It's a good thing because the world cannot afford to have a nuclear armed Iran. And that's where this was headed. Donald Trump offered the regime a deal, they did not take the deal, and this is where we've ended up. And now I think what we want to see is a peaceful settlement. We want to see hostilities de-escalating, and we're hoping the Iranian regime comes to its senses and this war can end, but we're a long way from that. And as you just showed, Tel Aviv is under attack, right now.

LAURA JAYES: That's right, and we could expect that to happen in the immediate aftermath. The next step, though, is how Iran might retaliate further if it goes beyond its targeting of Israel. If it goes beyond the Middle East, or even if it targets US assets in the Middle East, where do you see this going?

ANDREW HASTIE: I think we're going to see an economic shock. I think we saw the Iranian Parliament support the closure of the Hormuz Strait, which is going to put pressure on global oil prices. Obviously, Australia is exposed given that we import most of our crude and refined oil—almost all of it in fact. So, there will be a consequence for us, I hope it's not a big one. But that's something we need to watch. But in terms of what the Iranians do next, of course they're going to—they're firing missiles at Israel, and we should be on guard because they'll seek to retaliate against US interests, even as far away as the continental US itself. The US has had a soft border for quite some years. There's been mass migration of people into the US which is undocumented. Who knows what could happen in the US as well.

LAURA JAYES: Yeah, that's right. There's—I mean there is a fear, and I think largely unspoken at the moment that retaliation might look like Black Ops. Might look like terrorist attacks. Small cells on US soil as an ally— Australia being an ally. Is there a risk to us as well?

ANDREW HASTIE: I think the Quds Force, which is the unconventional special operations wing of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, very methodical, very patient. That's something we've got to watch very closely. And there's a reason why Mike Burges the Director General of ASIO mentioned the Iranians in his annual threat update, particularly around foreign interference. So, this is a risk for the US particularly, but also allies as well, but that's no reason not to stand with the US at this time. We can't afford to have a state sponsor like Iran get a nuclear weapon. And that's why yesterday was such a historic moment, because hopefully this frustrates the ambitions of the Iranian regime for at least a decade.

LAURA JAYES: And Australia does stand with the United States. Penny Wong has made that clear this morning. We haven't yet heard from Anthony Albanese. Has she been effusive enough in her language— of course language is really important at a time like this.

ANDREW HASTIE: I noted Penny Wong's comments this morning, and I'm glad that she's effectively come to a bipartisan position on this whereby we both agree that Iran can't have a nuclear weapon and that the strikes were necessary to prevent Iran getting one. But I've got to say, the Prime Minister has been very ambiguous, very flat footed. His instincts are all wrong and he should have led and supported these strikes yesterday as a key US ally. I think there's a new Trump doctrine emerging now, which is one the US will take care of hostile actors who seek to get a weapon of mass destruction, that's the first point. Number two, the US will help allies who help themselves, and that's why they've gotten behind Ukraine, obviously and Israel and number three, the US will expect allies to help shape the global order and that's where Anthony Albanese is sorely missing.

LAURA JAYES: Andrew Hastie, you just said that Anthony Albanese should have led. What do you mean by that?

ANDREW HASTIE: Well, I think well on a Sunday sending out a government spokesman to make a brief comment about one of the biggest events to happen in the last five years was not good enough. He should have called a National Security Committee meeting, and he should have stood up and spoken to the Australian people. This is a very significant moment, and he was nowhere to be seen.

LAURA JAYES: He's convened that this morning, as I understand it, and he will speak today, is that not good enough?

ANDREW HASTIE: Better late than never, Laura, but this is a very serious national security matter and we're insisting that he stand up and show leadership. It's as simple as that.

LAURA JAYES: Why is it a national security matter for us in the immediate term? Do you think there is an immediate threat? Is there something that Cabinet needs to consider about what the US might ask us to do in the near term?

ANDREW HASTIE: Look, we've had a hard closure of our embassy in Tehran. We've had our consular staff having to move to Azerbaijan. We've got 2,000 Australians trapped in Iran who need to get out. We've got Australians who are in Israel as well. We're very much engaged in this and of course—economic security, our supply chains are also affected through the Middle East. So, this is a very significant moment, and it affects Australia's economic and strategic interest directly, which is why the Prime Minister should have stood up and addressed this yesterday.

LAURA JAYES: Let me ask you about whether we should have been given a heads up on this because Keir Starmer made the point quite publicly, that he was given the heads up and he would expect such things from such a close ally. But do you accept this proposition that Mike Pezzullo has put forward on the show is that—I mean this was a mission that needed to have an act of surprise in it, and perhaps the UK, was given the heads up where Australia wasn't because of their proximity to the Middle East because they had aircraft carrier in the region and that perhaps were involved in the refuelling. Do you accept that, or should we read more into it—the fact that we weren't given a heads up.

ANDREW HASTIE: No, I think we should accept that. And I think the Secretary of Defence, Pete Hegseth, made it very clear yesterday. This was a very, very tightly held operation. Very few people in Washington DC were briefed, let alone allies. So that was the reason behind the success of the operation, I think. So, I think we can just take it as it appears on the face of it.

LAURA JAYES: As someone who served for Australia and with allies in Afghanistan, what is your view on whether this does become a forever war?

ANDREW HASTIE: Look, I hope it doesn't become a forever war. I hope this is part of, you know, the closure of this conflict. But look, we don't know what's going to happen next. Regime change carries a lot of risks. There's a mass migration of people. There's potentially a vacuum filled by an even worse actor in the middle of Iran. So, I think we really want Iran to come to the negotiating table. We want them to submit themselves to the IAEA and their rigorous inspection regime, and we want peace back in the region. I think that's what we need to be shooting for.

LAURA JAYES: Andrew Hastie, good to talk to you this morning. We'll speak soon.

ANDREW HASTIE: Thanks, Laura.

[ENDS]