THE HON ANDREW HASTIE MP
SHADOW MINISTER FOR HOME AFFAIRS
FEDERAL MEMBER FOR CANNING

TRANSCRIPT
INTERVIEW WITH PETER STEFANOVIC, SKY NEWS

Wednesday 3 September 2025

Topics: Repatriation of ISIS brides, Bob Carr and Daniel Andrews visit to China, Net Zero.

E&OE……………………………………

PETER STEFANOVIC: Shadow Home Affairs Minister, Andrew Hastie, so you had that response from your opponent, Andrew, in the form of a statement. What are your thoughts on this apparent secret mission to bring back ISIS brides?

ANDREW HASTIE: Good morning, Peter. First and foremost in our minds is community safety. And I think when these people put in their lot to go and fight with ISIS, or support ISIS, at the height of the caliphate, most Australians would have thought, goodbye and good riddance. So the question is, why would we bring these people back, and what is the government doing to make sure that they're not a threat to Australian security and community safety? These are questions for the government to answer, and I think they need to come out very clearly and state what they're doing here.

PETER STEFANOVIC: Yeah, I mean, ISIS was defeated but it's not dead. So would radicalisation be top of mind when it comes to security concerns for you?

ANDREW HASTIE: That's right. The capability of ISIS was defeated, but the ideas and the intent is still there. And so we need to be very careful about who we bring back to this country, because they still may be radicalised, they still may be completely wedded to the ideology of ISIS. So we're going to ask questions of this government. They need to be very clear. Julian Hill said earlier on your program that he's not even briefed in on this - that's concerning. We need to get to the bottom of it, and we will.

PETER STEFANOVIC: Speaking of radicalised, how troubled are you by Thomas Sewell and these Nazis in Melbourne, Andrew?

ANDREW HASTIE: I'm very troubled. It's disturbing to see Neo-Nazis hijacking otherwise law abiding, peaceful protests around the country on Sunday. It's very clear, there are listed terrorist organisations in this country - Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic State and a whole range of neo-Nazi groups – and so it's against the law to associate yourself with those groups, to show their symbols in public, and we've seen that last month. We've seen a display from a number of people supporting those groups, and that's what's concerning. We're seeing radicalisation across the political spectrum, and governments need to do more to lead in this. They need to show moral clarity on this.

PETER STEFANOVIC: So think they're not doing enough to crack down on it?

ANDREW HASTIE: No, I don't. I think the government needs to show leadership here. Social cohesion is fraying at the moment, and this is where political leadership is critical. We've had the Prime Minister for more than three years now, but certainly since October 7, and he's been flat footed, he's been passive. He needs to lead. He needs to demonstrate moral clarity.

PETER STEFANOVIC: Let's turn our attention to China now, Andrew. How do you feel about Bob Carr and Daniel Andrews attending this military parade today?

ANDREW HASTIE: I think it reflects poorly on their judgment and their convictions. I think you should always take the lead from the head of mission, the Ambassador to China, who is not going to be present at this parade. When you know that Vladimir Putin, when you know that Kim Jong Un is going, this is a parade for dictators, it's a celebration of the Chinese Communist Party and I think it's very strange that we have two former Australian political leaders attending in a private capacity. I look forward to seeing them clap like seals as the missiles roll by on the parade.

PETER STEFANOVIC: Bob Carr makes the point, though, that he's there because without China, their forces – and they suffered staggering losses back in World War Two – without their defence of China, then Japan would have had an even bigger raid on Australia, so that should be celebrated today. Does he have a point on that front?

ANDREW HASTIE: I don't think I want to get into counterfactuals with World War Two. Our troops fought valiantly to defend Australia. America played a huge role in the Pacific War. I think that's pretty cute from Bob Carr to make this about history. This is pageantry run by the CCP. Guess who's coming? Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un. If I was those two gentlemen, I wouldn't be attending.

PETER STEFANOVIC: Ok, just a final matter and a domestic political issue, Andrew. Will you be supporting Barnaby Joyce's bill to ditch net zero?

ANDREW HASTIE: That's a good question. Thanks, Pete. Nice one to start the morning with. Look, I'm a member of the Shadow Cabinet. We're going through an energy policy review at the moment. My views are very clear – I think we're on the road to ruin under Labor's net zero settings, but I'm not going to get into hypotheticals on a live program where both my friends and my enemies are watching.

PETER STEFANOVIC: Was this conversation had with Barnaby Joyce, though, where he said, hey, don't support it, because you could get kicked to the backbench?

ANDREW HASTIE: Look, I chat to Barnaby a fair bit, as I do with many other colleagues. He gives you all sorts of advice. We've had chats, but I'm not going to go into the private details.

PETER STEFANOVIC: Would you be worried though, that if you said to your team, we should be abandoning net zero, would you be worried about getting kicked to the backbench?

ANDREW HASTIE: My country always comes first. I'm not worried about my position, I'm worried about doing what's right. We're in Opposition now, we're in a deep valley and we need to find our way out. That's why we're going through a constructive policy process overseen by our Leader, Sussan Ley, and Dan Tehan, our Shadow Energy Minister,

PETER STEFANOVIC: Wouldn't you be worried about staying in Opposition, though, if you abandon net zero?

ANDREW HASTIE: It depends. Are the Australian people really keen to see their power prices continue to rise? Are they really keen to see industry leave our shores? Are they really keen to see businesses close? And moreover, once they understand the hypocrisy of this government – a government that's willing to export 25 per cent of the world's coal, 20 per cent of the world's gas, to some of the world's biggest and fastest growing emitters, yet deny it to the Australian people – I think once they realise the truth at the heart of Labor's net zero policy, I think they'll start breaking our way.

PETER STEFANOVIC: So is that the argument that you'd be putting up behind the scenes to your colleagues?

ANDREW HASTIE: I would say this: Australia produces 1.1 per cent of the world's carbon. China, India and the United States produce more than 50 per cent of the world's emissions. None of them are committed to net zero. In fact, their emissions are growing year on year. And yet, under Anthony Albanese, we're taking our country into a very dark place in terms of energy prices, energy security, and I just don't think the trade-offs are worth it. It messes with our economics. Labor likes to frame this in terms of climate, but we've got to have a serious conversation about economics and the trade-offs involved in this policy.

PETER STEFANOVIC: Okay, but is that the argument that you're presenting behind the scenes?

ANDREW HASTIE: There's a whole range of arguments. I mean, I've said this publicly. Just go to chapter eight of the AEMO Integrated System Plan last year, it lists all the risks of this transition. And there are a lot of risks here, and no one's talking about it, and we should be talking about it.

PETER STEFANOVIC: Okay, I'm out of time, but a good variety of topics today, Andrew Hastie. Thank you so much for your time, as usual. We'll talk to you again soon.

[ENDS]