THE HON ANDREW HASTIE MP

SHADOW MINISTER FOR INDUSTRY AND SOVEREIGN CAPABILITY
FEDERAL MEMBER FOR CANNING

 

TRANSCRIPT

INTERVIEW WITH MARK LEVY, 2GB

 

Tuesday 16 June 2026

 

Topics: Senator Jonno Duniam; polling; One Nation; defence assets; AUKUS; hate speech laws; Liberal Party; immigration.

 

E&OE……………………………………

MARK LEVY: Morning, Andrew.

ANDREW HASTIE: Morning, Mark. Great to be with you.

MARK LEVY: Nice to be back home in Sydney, mate?

ANDREW HASTIE: It sure is. A lot of memories here, great city, and good to just catch up with people over here.

MARK LEVY: What brings you to Sydney? Bit of political work?

ANDREW HASTIE: Yeah, a bit of political work. Last night I gave a speech in Sydney about artificial intelligence, and what it means for this country, with Julian Leeser who hosts the Tom Hughes Oration every year. So I gave the speech and had some thoughts on what AI means for every Australian and what it means for us strategically, importantly.

MARK LEVY: Now you're happy to speak to some of the listeners this morning on the open line?

ANDREW HASTIE: Yes, of course. I love open, dynamic conversations.

MARK LEVY: No questions off limits?

ANDREW HASTIE: No questions off limits, that's fine.

MARK LEVY: Fantastic, alright, 131 873 if you'd like to have a chat to Andrew Hastie. He's here in the studio, 131 873 is the number. A bit of news in the Coalition this week. Who I think is one of the great performers for the Coalition, Jonno Duniam, has decided that he's going to pull the pin in the lead up to the next election to spend a bit more time with his family. I don't begrudge him in that. You're pretty close with Jonno – your reaction to that.

ANDREW HASTIE: Well, Jonno's my flatmate. I've lived with him for the last couple of years, so I knew this was coming. Jonno is two months older than me – he's 43 – he's got three boys. He has spent the last 10 years on the road working really hard as a senator for Tasmania and for the country, and he just thought it was time. I totally get that, because I know the cost to family. So we've lost someone who's very gifted, he's a very hardworking guy, but in the end, family is most important, and he's going to spend some time with his family.

MARK LEVY: He made mention that the whole leadership speculation and challenge took its toll on him. How difficult was that period for those in the inner sanctum? You were one of those.

ANDREW HASTIE: Look, it always tests relationships and friendships. It's no secret that Jonno was very close with me. But it also brings into clear focus what your priority priorities are in life and Jonno decided that now is the time to focus on his boys whilst they're in their teenage years and give them some time that they haven't had.

MARK LEVY: Just on the whole leadership change, the polls don't look good for the Coalition. Things seem to be going backwards, unfortunately, and you're sort of in a similar or worse position to when Sussan Ley was the leader. So, I guess the obvious question is, was it the right call, ousting Sussan and replacing her with Angus Taylor?

ANDREW HASTIE: It was the right call. Angus Taylor is doing a huge body of policy work. He's driving internal reform in the Coalition itself, so we're working really hard to deliver for the Australian people. It's a bit like the 30-minute mark in a rugby league match, right? We're down, sure – the scoreboards not looking good – but 50 minutes of footy left, not even halfway in the term, and we can pull it back.

MARK LEVY: I guess my concern for the Coalition is, I thought Angus' Budget in Reply speech was strong –

ANDREW HASTIE: It was.

MARK LEVY: = He got a bit of publicity by calling the Prime Minister a, let's just say, unparliamentary term that I think a lot of my listeners would agree with. He just left out the word lying from what he referred to the Prime Minister as. But the fact that he's not making any ground in the polls, is that a problem?

ANDREW HASTIE: It's not a problem, it's just timing. Right now, people, I think, are expressing their discontentment through the polling – One Nation is giving expression to a lot of people's discontentment and grievance. But in the end, people want solutions, so what we're working on are policy solutions – cutting immigration, getting out of Net Zero, building more homes so people here can have a future in this country, cutting income tax, and also building a sovereign wealth fund. We sell a lot of gas and coal and other commodities; we're going to take the profits from that and invest it in nation building infrastructure – 25 per cent of that will be pegged for the regions. So, we've got plans, and at the moment it's hard to get those plans out in the open. It's a very competitive environment, but that's why being patient, not getting rattled, and just focusing on going through the basics – through the hands, as they say.

MARK LEVY: Yeah, I probably have to ask this question, and I imagine in politics, when you're going backwards in the polls and things aren't hunky dory, there's a few people circling and thinking to themselves, have we got the right bloke? Do you think Angus Taylor will be the Opposition Leader and the Leader of the Liberal Party come this time in two years' time when we go to an election?

ANDREW HASTIE: Yes, I do. We've just built a new team, we're bedding that team down, and we need to be patient. We'll see the return investment on that team over time.

MARK LEVY: One Nation – Pauline Hanson was in the studio with Ben Fordham this morning, taking call after call. There's a lot of support for Pauline. Everywhere I go at the moment, people are stopping me – knowing what I do – and they say, "Mark, we're on board with Pauline Hanson, we've had a gut full of the major parties." What do people stop and say to you, Andrew? Because you're a familiar face to the electorate, people know who you are, they know what party you're in. Are they saying the same thing to you?

ANDREW HASTIE: Yeah, look, people are saying that they're supporting Pauline, or they're thinking about supporting Pauline. But the message is to us: do better, have policy, come out strong, and have a plan, so that's what we're focusing on. We're not going after sugar hits on social media. It's easy to pop off on a 30 second reel online and get a whole bunch of likes – it's much harder to model a policy, cost a policy, get a policy out the door and win an election. That's what we're focusing on.

MARK LEVY: She did stop me in the corridor this morning, Andrew, and she said: why do you keep having a go at me for not having policies – they're on my website – and why don't you hold the Coalition to the same account? Because, admittedly, your side of politics was very late coming to the table with policies in the lead up to the last election. Is that a fair comment from Pauline or not?

ANDREW HASTIE: Well, look, you can make, "Please Explain" cartoons, but in the end they're cartoons. Politics is not about entertainment. Sure, those cartoons are funny, but Pauline Hanson has to answer some questions. If she's going to run for Prime Minister, which seat is she going to run in? Who's going to be her treasurer? Who's going to be her defence minister? Who's going to run social services? Who's going to run the attorney general's department? These are all really important appointments, because they will impact Australians and their lives. So, these are the questions she's got to answer.

MARK LEVY: I want to play something to you that she said this morning, and I'll get your response to it. Miss Hanson was asked by Ben Fordham a whole range of questions this morning, and I just want to play you a response that she gave to one of those answers this morning – Pauline Hanson. It relates to the fact that she said she'd essentially create a new coalition with your party if she wins enough seats. Have a listen to what she had to say about that, and I'll get your response.

*EXCERPT PLAYS*

 

MARK LEVY: Is that something you can rule out, Andrew? Because I know that you and I have spoken in the past, and you've sort of said that if One Nation is coming after your seat, bring it on, you're up for a fight. Let's face facts, given where the Coalition is at the moment, you need One Nation, don't you?

ANDREW HASTIE: Like I said, we're still in the first half of this term. We're going to announce more policy, we're going to campaign hard, and we're not going to be distracted. That's why talking about preferences now, I think, is unhelpful - it signals weakness. I want to win outright. I want the Coalition to win government, form government at the next election and defeat the Albanese government. That's our objective – defeating the Albanese government. And so for me, Pauline Hanson and James Ashby have declared war on me – they said they're coming for Canning. I don't negotiate, mate. If they want war, I'm going to give them war.

 

MARK LEVY: Well, see that there was that rumour going around that Ben Roberts-Smith was going to run against you in that seat, and that was debunked in the end. But I'm assuming, if I'm you, right, you've got a family, you want to be in politics as long as you can, and as a former soldier that you are, you're up against an enemy, and for you, One Nation is the enemy, because they want to win your seat. So it puts you in a really difficult position. Is that fair?

 

ANDREW HASTIE: It's not a difficult position. Sure, I've got Labor on one side, One Nation on the other, but I back myself as a campaigner, I back myself for delivering for my local community, so I welcome the fight. But if they think that I'm just going to bow the knee and do a preference deal because I'm scared – think again, mate.

 

MARK LEVY: Let's do a bit of role play here, right? If I walk up to you and you're standing at a polling booth, and I say, "Andrew Hastie, mate, I'm sick and tired of the major parties, I'm sick of your mob, I'm sick of the political games. Pauline Hanson tells it straight. Pauline Hanson's going to cut immigration, Pauline Hanson's going to get rid of Net Zero. I'm done with Labor; I'm done with the Coalition." What do you say to me as a voter?

 

ANDREW HASTIE: Well, mate, I'd ask you to back me, because I resigned over immigration last year from the front bench – that's how strongly I felt about cutting immigration. I campaigned very strongly for Net Zero last year, and guess what? We are cutting immigration under Angus Taylor. We are out of Net Zero under Angus Taylor. We're cutting income tax. We're about delivery. We're actually going to deliver plans for Australia. This isn't about social media or nice funny videos - we actually care about Australians and making their lives better.

 

MARK LEVY: Alright, before we get to a couple of calls – 131 873 If you'd like to pose a question to Andrew Hastie – this peace deal that's been apparently struck between the US and Iran, will it hold up?

 

ANDREW HASTIE: The devil is always in the detail, and there's a lot of variables. We hope it holds up, because we want to see the Strait of Hormuz open, and commodities like oil and other things flowing through the Strait. But there's a lot of questions to be answered. Will the Iranians hand over what's left of their nuclear program? Will they impose a toll on the Strait? What's Israel going to do? We welcome the ceasefire, but let's not get ahead, because we've been talking about a deal and a ceasefire since April 7 and here we are.

 

MARK LEVY: Now, Andrew, I've asked you some tough questions in our fortnightly catch-ups, but a word of warning: our listeners can be pretty brutal.

 

ANDREW HASTIE: That's alright, I've done a lot of town halls!

 

MARK LEVY: You ready to go?

 

ANDREW HASTIE: Let's do it.

 

MARK LEVY: Alright, let's go. Ladies and gentlemen, your questions for Andrew Hastie. David's at Taramara. David, good morning. Your question for Andrew.

 

CALLER 1: Good morning, Mark. Good morning, Andrew. Andrew, like yourself, I'm also an ex-Army veteran. My question to you is about AUKUS. We talk about the Americans with the Virginia class subs which we're not getting until the 2030s. Yet no one in the government or the Opposition, including yourself and One Nation, have spoken about acquiring two of the Astute class submarines from the United Kingdom, who are partners of AUKUS. Can you explain to me why we are not able to acquire HMS Astute, HMS Agamemnon, who are sitting vessels are sitting in Portsmouth and Roseneath at this very moment, languishing because the British Royal Navy and the British government is broke. They are nuclear powered, they have at least 10 to 15 years left in their Rolls Royce reactors, they were built by BAE Systems, who are the builders of the ships here in Henderson and in Osborne, South Australia.

 

MARK LEVY: Let me butt in if I can, David, and we'll get Andrew to answer your question. Your thoughts?

 

ANDREW HASTIE: Well, firstly, we've committed to the Virginia class. But secondly, David, the UK government hasn't indicated that those submarines are for sale. The last time we went to purchase a big defence asset from the UK, we were going to buy their aircraft carriers just before the Falklands War, and guess what? Those carriers were used in the Falklands War. I suspect the United Kingdom wants to keep those submarines for their own purposes. It's a good question, but I think the plan is set – we're going to go for the Virginia class submarines.

 

MARK LEVY: David, thank you for your call, mate. I want to keep moving to some of these other questions coming through. Anthony's at Lake Macquarie. Anthony, good morning.

 

CALLER 2: G'day, Andrew. We've worked together previously, obviously, ex-ADF too. My question is about defence and policy for LNP. We know when the Labor government came in, they gutted, in particular, the Army and the balanced brigade structure. Since then, there's been a significant shift in autonomous systems, both air and ground. What's the LNP's position on funding and rebalancing the ADF?

 

ANDREW HASTIE: Well, Anthony, thanks for your service, mate, firstly. But secondly, good question. We're going to increase defence spending – we're going to get it up to three per cent by the end of the decade if we win government. What AUKUS has done, it's imposed a massive imposition on the Budget. The Labor Party aren't serious about funding AUKUS, which is why the Defence Budget is being cannibalised. That's why Army's suffering, that's why Navy's suffering, that's why Air Force is suffering – because we haven't accounted for AUKUS. So, we've got to increase Defence spending, we've got to modernise. AI, autonomous warfare – this is going to change the way we do business, as we've seen in Ukraine and recently in Iran. These are the things we're going to adapt. Senator James Paterson, the Shadow Defence Minister, is across this. I have full confidence in him. And finally, Anthony, we're going to stop Labor's fire sale of our Defence bases. These are so important to our history, but also, we can't extinguish the last of the Defence presence from our capital cities.

 

MARK LEVY: Anthony, thank you for your service, and thank you for your question. I'm going to put this one to you – it might be an uncomfortable one, but you can set the record straight. Because when we speak, I get this from time to time: Mark, the problem with Andrew Hastie is he's aligned to Malcolm Turnbull. People are concerned about the relationship. Your response?

 

ANDREW HASTIE: People don't know, but I was the one who signed the petition to change leaders when Malcolm was the Prime Minister, so we didn't end our relationship well back in 2018. But the thing about politics is you don't want to have the enemies. Malcolm's a former prime minister, he knows a fair bit about national security, and so I've maintained a friendly relationship with Malcolm. Apparently, that makes me bad – Peta Credlin came out on Sky and condemned me for that. So, it's sort of baked in now that I'm this close ally of Malcolm Turnbull. I'd just rather not have enemies.

 

MARK LEVY: He's no friend of the Liberal Party, though, is he?

 

ANDREW HASTIE: Of course, and he has said some really tough things about some of my close friends. But in the end, if I can have a cordial relationship with people, why not? I don't need to be at war with people.

 

MARK LEVY: Alright, let's keep going with some questions here. Let's squeeze in a couple more before you get on to other things. Kelly's at Green Valley. Morning, Kelly. Your question for Andrew.

 

CALLER 3: Good morning. In January of this year, Andrew, you said you were against hate speech laws, and then you split and said that you were for hate speech laws. What was the change of opinion?

 

ANDREW HASTIE: The week prior to the Bill being amended, I said I was going to vote against the Bill. And the part that pertained to hate speech was completely cut out of the Bill – it was excised, it was gutted like a fish. I worked very closely with Jonno Duniam, who is the Shadow Minister for Home Affairs, to get that deal to protect Australians and free speech. In the end, I had to honour that deal, which is what I did. Now, there was a lot of lies told about that Bill, and what it did, and I think you know now that there isn't a hate speech law that was passed back in January. Sometimes in politics you lose the communications battle. But in the end, I did what was in the best interest of the Australian people, and that was to get rid of that part, which would have brought in a hate speech clause.

 

MARK LEVY: Good on you, Kelly. Thanks for the call. One more. Phil, good morning to you.

 

CALLER 4: Good morning. Hi, Andrew. I was wondering if you could tell the Australian people just how many immigrants are living in hotels, motels, and caravan parks, because us taxpayers are paying for them.

 

ANDREW HASTIE: Yeah, Phil, good question. I don't know about immigrants living in caravan parks and tents and cars, but I can tell you what, mate, there's Australians who are living in caravans and tents and cars, because I see them in my own electorate. That's because we've got too many people in this country and not enough homes. Over the last four years, our population has grown by 1.8 million people – 1.4 million of those people have come from offshore. We haven't built enough homes – we're building about 150,000 homes per year. And so, to create a better future for all Australians, we're going to cut immigration, and we're going to peg it to housing completion, so that young Australians have a hope of getting a roof over their heads. My real concern is for Australians who can't get into a home, not so much immigrants at this point.

 

MARK LEVY: Fantastic. Andrew, thank you for coming in and answering some questions. New South Wales to win by how many tomorrow night? Origin Two.

 

ANDREW HASTIE: I'm going to go for a field goal, just to mix it up. One pointer.

 

MARK LEVY: Righto. Fantastic, good to see you, mate, in person. We'll do it again sometime soon.

 

ANDREW HASTIE: Thanks, Mark. Cheers.

[ENDS]