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

TRANSCRIPT
INTERVIEW WITH NADIA MITSOPOULOS, ABC RADIO WA MORNINGS

Thursday 10 September 2026

Topics: One Nation; reports of Australians training overseas fighters.

E&OE……………………………………

NADIA MITSOPOULOS: Andrew Hastie, good morning, and thanks for talking to me. 

ANDREW HASTIE: Good morning, Nadia. Great to be with you.

NADIA MITSOPOULOS: What offends you about this satirical cartoon?

ANDREW HASTIE: She's called me a traitor eight times. She pinned that to her X account on July 23; the cartoon is authorised by her. I served my country in uniform for 12 years, eight months. I left my wife three times on combat operations and risked my life. And so, to be called a traitor – there's only one way you can read that, given the context of the cartoon. She has picked a fight with the wrong veteran.  I'm not just speaking for myself; I'm speaking for many veterans because the context in which she calls me a traitor was because I answered a subpoena and gave evidence at the Federal Court back in 2022 in a trial that Ben Roberts-Smith brought against Nine Media. Twenty other SAS combat veterans also gave evidence. And so, my question for Pauline Hanson is: is she calling those soldiers traitors to their country as well? I gave her the option yesterday of either owning the words – own them and call me a traitor publicly – or take the cartoon down. She did neither, and that's why I think she's revealed herself to be weak, glass-jawed, and unable to take responsibility for her position. 

NADIA MITSOPOULOS: This is what she told Sky regarding your concerns.

*EXCERPT PLAYS*

Do you accept what she's saying there? 

ANDREW HASTIE: I don't accept it, and this just shows she's a weak leader, unable to take responsibility for her actions. She's pinned it to her X account, it's authorised by her, she calls me a traitor eight times. I took an oath of enlistment back in January 2003 to serve in the ADF, and I swore allegiance to our country to do my duty within the law and to resist all enemies. Because I did my duty within the law, that makes me a traitor according to Pauline Hanson. Well, she doesn't get to redefine Anzac, she doesn't get to redefine the Profession of Arms or set the standards for conduct on the battlefield. Frankly, I'm calling her out. She's picked the fight with the wrong veteran.

NADIA MITSOPOULOS: And this argument of, but it's a satirical cartoon, toughen up?

ANDREW HASTIE: So weak from her. She's the one who cried rivers for Gina Rinehart when the ABC published that satirical video about her. I agreed with her that it should have been taken down, I'm glad the ABC did take it down. Now she's applying a hypocritical double standard to her own video.

NADIA MITSOPOULOS: My guest is Andrew Hastie, Liberal Member for Canning. You've asked her to take it down, Andrew Hastie. She's refused. Would you consider legal action?

ANDREW HASTIE: No, because she's backed by Gina Rinehart. I don't have pockets deep enough to take her on legally. But I am imposing political cost, and I'll go all the way to the next election. She has picked a fight with the wrong veteran, and she hasn't backed down, and she hasn't apologised, so guess what? There are thousands, if not millions, of Australians around this country who would take offense at the use of the word "traitor". Because it doesn't just reflect on me; it reflects on veterans and also serving men and women in our uniform who believe in standards of conduct on the battlefield.

NADIA MITSOPOULOS: Have you had other veterans come to you since this became public to say they feel the same way as you? That they are offended by this?

ANDREW HASTIE: Yes, I've been flooded with support as well as donations from people I've never heard from before.

 NADIA MITSOPOULOS: And what have they said to you?

ANDREW HASTIE: They agree that the ADF stands for more than brute force. The ADF has standards – we adhere to the Geneva Convention. When we wear the Australian flag on the left side of our shoulder, we go into combat fiercely and tough, and we want to win, but we also have standards. That's what distinguishes us from our enemies.

NADIA MITSOPOULOS: And in the last couple of days, when you've been commenting on this, Andrew Hastie, you've also called Pauline Hanson and others at One Nation lying cowards. It's a big thing to call somebody a liar, isn't it?

ANDREW HASTIE: It is. I mean, she's raised $5 million with her "Fire the Liar" campaign, and then she goes and tells a lie herself. She came out and said, "I never called Andrew Hastie a traitor," while she still has the cartoon pinned to her account, authorised by her in her name. 

NADIA MITSOPOULOS: Pauline and the party, as you alluded to, are big supporters of Ben Roberts-Smith, and you mentioned this. Do you believe this is very much about your involvement in that defamation case against Ben Roberts-Smith.

ANDREW HASTIE: I do. They are politicising a judicial process. They are targeting witnesses and making witnesses feel the pressure. I'm the only one who isn't protected by a non-publication order, and at this stage I'm unlikely to appear anyway. But this is weaponising and politicising an important judicial process. They don't believe in the rule of law, and frankly, it does a huge disservice because what we need to have is a fair trial without political interference.

NADIA MITSOPOULOS: You're listening to Andrew Hastie, Liberal member for Canning, and you can call me and tell me where you sit on this debate – 1300 221 025. I've got to say, the text line is going into meltdown, and overwhelmingly, there are people that are supporting you for calling this out this morning. One Nation says you're being emotional.

ANDREW HASTIE: Well, you know what? I'm a pretty chilled out guy most of the time. You call me a traitor – you lock me into a fight. And when I start a fight, I finish the fight. So, Pauline Hanson, James Ashby, you're going to learn that there is a cost to these words.

NADIA MITSOPOULOS: Do you think this is a deliberate ploy to derail the trial?

ANDREW HASTIE: Who knows what their motivation is. But I believe in the rule of law, I believe in the presumption of innocence, I believe in a fair trial, and they are compromising that.

NADIA MITSOPOULOS: Andrew Hastie, you talk about they've picked on the wrong veteran to have a fight with, and you'll put up a fight. So, I guess is that fight about saving your seat? Because One Nation has said they are specifically targeting your seat. They won the Secret Harbour by-election – 40 per of the primary vote. They've said they're targeting your seat. What threat does One Nation pose to you and your seat? Could you lose it to them?

ANDREW HASTIE: I could lose it to them, absolutely. But that's not what I'm worried about. I'm worried about my reputation, my family's name, and the veterans without a voice who have – by connection with me – been called traitors to their country. Politics comes and goes. I'm very glad to represent Canning. I love the Peel region. I've had all my kids there; they go to school there. I've got a wonderful community, and I'll serve as long as they ask me to. But this isn't about political point scoring. This is a issue of principle. By the way, Luke Herdegen who won the seat of Secret Harbour – good on him. Congratulations to Luke – I haven't had a chance to speak to him. I look forward to delivering the Karnup train station for the people of Secret Harbour. I managed to get Labor to commit to that, and I'm going to see it through it. 

NADIA MITSOPOULOS: Has the result in Secret Harbour spooked you at all? Just the size of that primary vote. 

ANDREW HASTIE: No, I'm not spooked.

NADIA MITSOPOULOS: Are you surprised by it?

ANDREW HASTIE: I'm not surprised because people in the outer metropolitan parts of Australia have been overlooked for a long time. Real wages have stagnated since the pandemic. People are able to buy less with every dollar they earn. Public infrastructure has not been rolled out in pace with the housing developments, so people don't have access to public transport, good roads. Essential services are overwhelmed. Hospital wait times, GP wait times are huge. People are really frustrated and feeling overlooked. I'm hugely sympathetic. I live down there. I experience what it's like. It used to take me an hour and 10 minutes to get from Mandurah to the city, now it's an hour and 40 most days. That's an opportunity cost for people who are traveling to the city for work. They want a better deal, and the parties of government need to get a better plan for the Australian people. That's why our plan is lower taxes, cheaper energy, we're going to cut immigration and peg it to housing completions, and we're going to invest in the Australian people with nation-building projects.

NADIA MITSOPOULOS: There are some policies that do feel very close to One Nation policies – are you concerned that there is a perception out there that the Liberals are swinging too far to the right, or trying to mimic One Nation to try and get those votes back? 

ANDREW HASTIE: No, Angus Taylor is leading us through a very in-depth policy process. We're costing, we're modelling. So, whilst One Nation might jump out ahead with a policy, there's nothing behind it – it's an X post or a Facebook post. Whereas we are doing the detailed work. The tobacco excise cut that we've announced of 80 per cent – we have worked that through. We've worked out, through parliamentary budgetary modelling, that the way to attack the illicit tobacco trade is to hit it by cutting 80 per cent of excise and also investing $200 million into law enforcement. We need to do more raids, more seizures, more arrests. We actually have a plan, unlike One Nation who just committed to 75 per cent excise cut, and that was it – we heard nothing more from them. 

NADIA MITSOPOULOS: Andrew Hastie, yesterday, I was speaking to Liberal Leader Basil Zemplias here in Perth, and he did not rule out some sort of an alliance with One Nation down the track if their popularity continues to rise, and if they happen to become the major opposition party, just have a listen to my exchange with him. 

*EXCERPT PLAYS*

What would your advice be to Basil Zempilas?

ANDREW HASTIE: My advice to the Liberal Party across the country is to fight for every single vote, to develop a vision for the forgotten people of Australia – people concentrated in the outer metropolitan areas – and come up with a plan to deliver more tax cuts, cheaper energy, more houses, better infrastructure for their communities, and using the profits from the resources sector to invest in nation-building projects, whether that's ports, roads, rail, sovereign AI. These are the things that are going to make us competitive into the future.

NADIA MITSOPOULOS: But an alliance with One Nation. Would you feel comfortable if that was something that had to be contemplated down the track, because the Nationals were not the force – I mean, they're not much of the force that they were – but I mean, is that a possibility?

ANDREW HASTIE: I like to win. I like to win outright. My focus is on winning outright. Does it really sound like I'd be up for an alliance with One Nation today?

NADIA MITSOPOULOS: Doubt it.

ANDREW HASTIE: Yeah, I don't think so.

NADIA MITSOPOULOS: Before I let you go, and you've been generous with your time this morning, Andrew Hastie. Just on another matter, there are reports in the UK press this morning about an Australian intelligence memo raising concerns that former Australian Special Forces operators are training Russian citizens at a military training camp in Bulgaria. Does that alarm you, that possibility?

ANDREW HASTIE: I've read that article in the UK Telegraph. It is very concerning. It looks pretty well sourced from what appears to be Australian intelligence memos. But I will say this: a lot of people claim to have served in the SAS, and they've never been in uniform. I recently was hosted at the SAS over at Swanbourne. It was a huge privilege to go back. I met with all the junior leaders and I've got to say, I was so impressed with the guys. I don't think anyone would contemplate ever serving with Russians or helping Russians in the fight against the Ukrainians, who we are 100 percent behind. So, I'd like to run those reports to ground. I think there's a lot of SAS imposters out there, and my first instinct is this is an organisation that's using the badge of the Special Air Service Regiment – the proud history – for their own commercial ends.

NADIA MITSOPOULOS: And that's a worry if that's what's happening.

ANDREW HASTIE: It's a worry, but a lot of people want to get on the brand and steal it because they love stolen valour.

NADIA MITSOPOULOS: I'll leave it there, Andrew Hastie. Thanks for joining me. Appreciate your time. 

ANDREW HASTIE: Thanks, Nadia.

[ENDS]