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

TRANSCRIPT
INTERVIEW WITH MARK LEVY, 2GB

Thursday 7 May 2026

Topics: ISIS Brides; Budget; Labor’s homegrown inflation; Farrer byelection.

E&OE……………………………………

MARK LEVY: Andrew, good morning to you.

ANDREW HASTIE: Good morning to you, Mark.

MARK LEVY: Mate, there's a lot of upset and angry people at the moment, given the arrival of these ISIS linked women and children today. First and foremost, I must admit, earlier this week, I thought maybe we're getting somewhere here – we started getting reports that these women and children were second guessing whether they would come back to Australia. But the announcement was made yesterday by the government that they will be arriving in Sydney and Melbourne today. How do you feel about it, Andrew?

ANDREW HASTIE: The Albanese government is just running dead on this issue. They're doing nothing, they're completely passive and they have had months to prepare for this. They've had months to prepare for a controlled return – if there was to be a return – and we have no clarity from the government on their plan. If these people have committed terrorism offenses, then they should be charged for supporting Islamic State. This will potentially put another burden on our law enforcement and intelligence agencies because there's a risk here, and the government is yet to come clean about how they're going to protect our community. This is just another example of the Albanese government failing in its basic duties to the Australian people.

MARK LEVY: The thing that a lot of people aren't accepting at the moment, Andrew, is when Tony Burke stands there, and the Prime Minister and uses the term that, "these people will face the full force of the law." Well, we saw what the full force of the law meant a couple of years ago when a woman by the name of Mariam Raad was charged and pleaded guilty to flying to a terrorist region – she didn't spend one day in a prison cell. So how can they say that these women are going to face the full force of law, if convicted of crimes, when clearly the precedent was set a couple of years ago and there wasn't any jail time – they're virtually free to live amongst us.

ANDREW HASTIE: That's right. Again, this just goes to the character of the Albanese government. They're a light touch on these really important law and order issues; they're a light touch on terrorism and Australians are right to be concerned about this. If they can't control this – if they can't stop this – what guarantee do we have the protecting us from the people we don't know about? Again, that's a question that we need to put to Anthony Albanese next week in the Parliament.

MARK LEVY: Admittedly, the Albanese government is the government of the day, but I did make the point off the top of the show that there were ISIS linked women and children allowed back into Australia under the Morrison government. Was that where the precedent was set, Andrew?

ANDREW HASTIE: Well, I think they were orphans that we repatriated back in the day, but these are women who joined up fully conscious of what they were doing. They were betraying their country to go and support Islamic State, one of the most murderous terrorist organisations in the last 50 years – that's a very different kettle of fish.

MARK LEVY: A lot of veterans writing to me – and of course, you're a veteran yourself, Andrew, and we thank you for your service – they write to me and say: Mark, we went overseas and fought this ideology, we're now letting it back into Australia. As a veteran, do you feel the same?

ANDREW HASTIE: There's a lot to unpack after 25 years of history in the Middle East, but this really is about failed immigration policies, ultimately. We fail to insist on Australian values and so we're letting people in who hate our country, who don't want to integrate with the Australian people, who don't want to share life together, who want to live separate, who don't recognise the rule of law and our institutions and our values. It's very frustrating, but this can ultimately be solved by immigration, which is why, under Angus Taylor and Jonno Duniam our Shadow Home Affairs Minister, we're taking a very strong stand on immigration.

MARK LEVY: Just one last one on this, Andrew, before we get on to other things. Do you see the irony that at the moment, in Sydney, we've got hearings in the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion looking at how and the events that led up to the Bondi Beach terrorist attack. A few people have made the point this morning – there's the government gloating about the fact that, yes, they were drag kicking and screaming, but set up this Royal Commission. At the same time, they're doing nothing to stop ISIS linked women and children from entering Australia and what does that do to our social cohesion? Do you see the irony there?

ANDREW HASTIE: I do see the irony. The average person on the street can see the irony. This is a government that always drags its feet on important national security issues and then runs dead or takes a very passive position when you have cohorts of ISIS brides returning to our country. Again, the Albanese government just can't be trusted to do the right thing on national security.

MARK LEVY: What are you expecting in the Budget on Tuesday, Andrew?

ANDREW HASTIE: More spending from this government – more inflationary spending. We heard from the International Monetary Fund the other day that big spending governments are driving inflation, and that's why Australia's inflation is high – persistently high – higher than most advanced economies around the world. What's happening in the Middle East is certainly contributing to that, but we went in to the war with Iran in a very weak position under the Albanese government. And if they keep spending like drunken sailors, Australians are going to pay more for their mortgages. The average mortgage is costing Australian families about $29,000 a year more, and average Australians will be paying more tax, because bracket creep is taking about $2,000 per year off the average Australian. We want to see less spending, and there's a lot of waste under this government.

MARK LEVY: You know the term I hate, Andrew – intergenerational equity. It keeps getting trotted out by the treasurer and the Prime Minister – intergenerational equity. It's intergenerational theft, isn't it?

ANDREW HASTIE: It is. If you spend money now that's not yours, you're stealing from future generations who have to pay it down in debt. And so younger Australians and kids still in school are going to have to pay for Anthony Albanese's reckless spending. That limits their choices for life, their ability to get into a home, their ability to start a family, their ability to realise the Australian dream, which is why we've got to get this budget under control.

MARK LEVY: The other thing that the Australian people have had enough of, and that's broken promises. You know, the $275 reduction in our power bills – now we're paying three, four times the amount that we were originally paying. And then there's the proposed changes that are expected to be announced on Tuesday by the Treasurer around negative gearing. Now, during the 2025, election campaign, James O'Doherty, over at the Telegraph, asked the Prime Minister this.

*EXCERPT PLAYS*

MARK LEVY: Jeez, I'll tell you what, Andrew, these broken promises, they're stacking up with this government, aren't they?

ANDREW HASTIE: That was a total bullseye there, Mark, I don't have to say much. Apart from ruling out any changes to the CGT discount and negative gearing, he also gave that reporter a pat on the head and said: you don't understand the federal parliament, basically. So yes, it's a broken promise. This Prime Minister can't be trusted, and if he's breaking a promise here, where's the next promise that he's going to break?

MARK LEVY: You're a father, Andrew. The kids tell you a little porky, you catch him out on a lie. Usually, the little boy or little girl say: okay, I didn't tell you the truth. There the Prime Minister was yesterday – again, James O'Doherty from the Telegraph, saying: is it a broken promise or not? He still wouldn't admit to it being a broken promise. I mean, the Australian people are being treated like mugs when the Prime Minister of Australia can't stand there and tell us the truth.

ANDREW HASTIE: He has no convictions, which is why he changes all the time. The only conviction for Anthony Albanese and this Labor Government is staying in power, and they'll spend Australians' money to stay in power – that's what's happening. I'd rather a Prime Minister who just said: this is my conviction, I'm going to stick to it, but sometimes the situation changes. But as you just played it, he ruled that out completely. So he's broken a promise here – clear as day.

MARK LEVY: Now, the government has been criticised for spending too much – we just touched on that – but they're now expected to give working Australians a tax offset of $200 to $300. I note your leader, your boss, Angus Taylor, said he would consider backing that policy. What do you think of it, Andrew?

ANDREW HASTIE: We'll have that discussion. But really – $200 to $300 – it's a fistful of coins from the Prime Minister. It's small change out of the jar, really. If people are paying $2,000 more income tax because of bracket creep, because of the government's inflationary spending, $200 to $300 – that's a week of groceries. A bit of fresh food for the week, and that's it – thanks very much, Prime Minister.

MARK LEVY: But aren't we trying to control inflation? Would this not be inflationary if we're handing out $200 to $300 to the Australian taxpayers?

ANDREW HASTIE: It would be, so let's just see what happens. I'm part of a shadow cabinet team; we have these discussions. I know what Angus has said, and Angus is going to wait and see what happens. We're not going to rule things in or out on the basis of news reports. But let's be clear, it's a fistful of coins from the Prime Minister if he does decide to go with it.

MARK LEVY: What do you make of Farrer, this upcoming byelection on Saturday? I suppose we need to touch on the run in between James Paterson, one of your mates and colleagues, and this One Nation volunteer. I think Pauline Hanson was right to quickly come out and apologise. I was a bit bemused by James Ashby's comments on Sky News last night, saying that James Paterson deserved to kick up the backside – I don't think that's very helpful. Surely, in our democracy, people from whatever political persuasion should be allowed to stand there in peace, hand out how to vote cards and speak to constituents outside a polling booth. What say you, Andrew?

ANDREW HASTIE: I've done weeks of my life on polling booths, and I've had aggressive people come up to me. The best thing you can do is de-escalate, which is what I think James was trying to do there. These sort of confrontational moments – they don't serve anyone well. I just think this bloke at One Nation just needed to step back a bit. I'm glad Pauline Hanson has apologised. James Ashby was wrong to say that last night – I think it shows his lack of wisdom – but it is what it is.

MARK LEVY: What about the result of the by election? One Nation – have they got it in the bag, or is it a bit closer than some are saying?

ANDREW HASTIE: I think all the money is on One Nation. I think this is going to be a really tough fight for us; we've got low expectations. We're putting in a good showing. Obviously, Anthony Albanese and the Labor Party haven't shown up because they know they'd cop a pasting, but we'll see what happens on Saturday.

MARK LEVY: Alright, mate. Well, we're out of time, but just one last one. PNG Chiefs are getting all this publicity about signing NRL players. We might need your help over in the West to get the Perth Bears a bit of publicity, because there's been stoushes and drama on television between rugby league commentators saying, poor old Perth aren't getting any PR. So, Andrew Hastie, we might need you to step up the plate if you're available.

ANDREW HASTIE: I would love to do that. I'd love to talk about something simple, like rugby league – that'd be great.

MARK LEVY: Not all the serious stuff all the time, you're right. Good on you, mate. Have a great week. We'll talk to you soon.

ANDREW HASTIE: Thanks, Mark. Cheers.

[ENDS]