THE HON ANDREW HASTIE MP
 FEDERAL MEMBER FOR CANNING

TRANSCRIPT
PRESS CONFERENCE, PERTH

Saturday 4 October 2025

E&OE……………………………………

ANDREW HASTIE: Thanks for coming down. This week, I received a letter from the Opposition Leader, Sussan Ley, outlining her expectations of me as the Shadow Minister for Home Affairs. In the letter, she made it clear that I would not be leading our response on immigration, nor developing our policy within the Coalition. She also emphasised Shadow Cabinet solidarity as a convention – something I believe very deeply in – and as a consequence, I came to the judgment that I could no longer serve in the Shadow Cabinet. Yesterday, I called the Leader, yesterday morning in fact, I informed her of my decision. It was a very friendly and respectful conversation, and here we are, so I'll move over to questions now

JOURNALIST: Will you be challenging for leadership?

ANDREW HASTIE: No, I won't be.

JOURNALIST: When you called, what was her response?

ANDREW HASTIE: We had a friendly conversation, and I agreed that we would delay the announcement until 5pm in good faith, because she had a full workload here in Perth yesterday.

JOURNALIST: Do you have confidence in Sussan's leadership?

ANDREW HASTIE: Yes, I do.

JOURNALIST: The letter that precipitated this movement, have any policy setting changed now under Ley than Dutton. Why has this happened now?

ANDREW HASTIE: Well, as the Shadow Minister for Home Affairs, I'm the senior lead for the portfolio – I was the senior lead for the portfolio. Immigration is a core responsibility of Home Affairs, and so when it was made clear that I wouldn't have any leadership in that role, I thought it was time for me to depart, because essentially, I want to be able to speak about immigration, which I think is a critical issue for a lot of Australians.

JOURNALIST: Specifically, what are the levels you think should be changed?

ANDREW HASTIE: I just think net overseas migration is out of control under Labor and regular mainstream Australians are feeling the pressure of Labor's uncontrolled immigration. One-point-two million people over the last three years, and Labor has only overseen the building of about half a million dwellings. So you can see why we have a housing demand crisis in this country.

JOURNALIST: [Inaudible] wanting to cut down on immigration. Do you differ in policy there? Do you have different levels you want to achieve?

ANDREW HASTIE: I don't want to get into the discussion on policy. This is not what today is about. I called this this morning, because you'd expect me to speak to you, and I didn't want people coming to my house, as has happened in the past. That's why I'm here today but I'm not going to go into policy.

JOURNALIST: There seems to be some disparity between your recollection of the letter and Sussan's. She says it was just the charter letter, but are you saying that included in her correspondence was that you weren't going to be taking the lead in immigration policy?

ANDREW HASTIE: That's right. The language I used in my statement did not exceed the language that she used in her charter letter.

JOURNALIST: Was she lying or misrepresenting?

ANDREW HASTIE: Not at all.

JOURNALIST: Where's that disparity coming from?

ANDREW HASTIE: There isn't a disparity. It was just very clear that I was not going to be having a lead in immigration policy as the Shadow Minister for Home Affairs.

JOURNALIST: Have you been asked by anyone in your party to run for leadership?

ANDREW HASTIE: No

JOURNALIST: Did you speak to any senior colleagues before making this move?

ANDREW HASTIE: I kept my conversations exceptionally limited about this, because this is a very personal decision, and I also know it's a decision that's not easy, including for the Leader. So I wanted to respect her. I wanted to make sure that I did it in an orderly manner, and that's why we've waited until 5pm yesterday to make an announcement.

JOURNALIST: Does your move away from the shadow front bench undermine her leadership?

ANDREW HASTIE: Look, politics is a vocation where convictions matter, and everyone knows that politics is full of uncertainty. And this is just one of those moments in a political term that occurs fairly frequently. So this is all built in and priced in, frankly, for anyone who's serving in Parliament.

JOURNALIST: Do you think this move hurts the Liberal Party brand?

ANDREW HASTIE: I don't think so, no.

JOURNALIST: How long have this decision been weighing on your mind?

ANDREW HASTIE: A couple of days.

JOURNALIST: There's a real dislocation between the party membership and the current parliamentary team in terms of policies. Do you see the Liberal Party, as it stands now with its current policies, being able to win an election?

ANDREW HASTIE: I think we can win an election. I mean, Labor is doing a terrible job on key issues like energy. Energy prices, or electricity, has gone up 24 per cent in the last 12 months. Immigration, as I said, is out of control. Not enough houses are being built. People are feeling the pressure in the cities. So I think there is a pathway to victory and on the back bench, I'll continue to advocate for things that I believe in. We're also going through a period of renewal as a party, and I want to be able to speak up on issues that I care about, and in order to uphold the principle of Shadow Cabinet solidarity, I had to step back.

JOURNALIST: That pathway that you're talking about, is Sussan Ley on that pathway or does she need to change?

ANDREW HASTIE: I want to give her the clear air and the opportunity to build a policy platform for the 2028 election.

JOURNALIST: But wouldn't clear air be remaining in Cabinet and\expressing some solidarity with your fellow Cabinet members?

ANDREW HASTIE: Well, if you're going to serve in the Parliament, you've got to do it with conviction and integrity. And I want to speak out on issues like immigration, because I think it's really important.

JOURNALIST: Even if those issues, and your view of them, conflicts with what the Liberal Party eventually lands on in terms of its policy plan?

ANDREW HASTIE: That's the beauty of being a backbench member, and it's the beauty of being part of the Liberal Party. We believe in conscience and freedom and expressing your mind. Unlike the Labor Party, where you get punted if you break with the party orthodoxy or position. So that's what the back bench is for, and that's why I'm moving to the back bench.

JOURNALIST: [Inaudible] about leadership, is that still an aspiration you hold?

ANDREW HASTIE: Yes, and I've dealt with those immediately after the election. Nothing's changed. I've got a very young family, and I want to invest in them now as well.

JOURNALIST: You've previously warned in social media posts that the party could die as a political movement if certain issues aren't addressed. Can you say what those issues are and why?

ANDREW HASTIE: Look, I think we're going through a period of renewal. I think the centre right as a movement is fractured at the moment. We're seeing the One Nation vote increase quite significantly. And I think one of the jobs we have to do as a Liberal Party is reconstitute that natural constituency if we're going to win government. So I think that's the task going forward. And that means listening to aspirational mainstream Australians who love their country, love their local community, love their families, who want to build a better life, but they feel like Labor has taken control away from them, and who feel like they're going backwards, and that's who we've got to win back.

JOURNALIST: You once praised Tony Abbott's approach to leadership – never actively seeking it, but always keeping in striking distance of it. Do you still see that as good approach?

ANDREW HASTIE: Yeah, I think that's good advice from Tony. Who wouldn't stick to that?

JOURNALIST: I'm thinking about what Arthur Sinodinos said a few days ago about his view that there are just not enough votes on the extreme right. Do you agree with that?

ANDREW HASTIE: I think his framing is wrong. I think his framing is out of touch. And, you know, he was serving under Howard 20 years ago, he was a Senator for a brief period, and I just don't think he's out there in the community. He's not listening.

JOURNALIST: Do you think those Teal seats in Sydney and Melbourne will ever come back to the party?

ANDREW HASTIE: Yeah, I think they're gettable, absolutely.

JOURNALIST: How are they gettable if you guys leave Net Zero, immigration behind? Those don't seem to be policies palatable to those electorates.

ANDREW HASTIE: I just don't think the Australian people are ideological. And if we just write off the Teals as being deeply ideological and opposed to the Liberal Party, we're never going to win it back. We've just got to listen and we've got to work out ways to connect with people, and that's the task going forward. Every seat in this country is winnable if you come up with a good platform, you build a big tent and you develop a vision for this country.

JOURNALIST: But Net Zero, in those seats, is a huge issue, and those voters want it addressed so how do you reconcile that?

ANDREW HASTIE: That's a good question. But I think what we're seeing across the world now is a move against Net Zero. We've seen Kemi Badenoch, the Tories leader, just this week commit to dumping Net Zero – not only dumping it, but actually repealing the climate targets and legislation. We’re seeing that in the UK. We're seeing that in Europe as well. And people who live in Teal seats, they pay power bills as well. They suffer cost of living pressures as well. So the key is always to focus on getting a price target, not an emissions target. I think if we deliver better prices for the Australian people, they'll come with us.

JOURNALIST: Does Sussan Ley still have the support of the majority of the Liberal Party?

ANDREW HASTIE: Yes, absolutely.

JOURNALIST: Just to confirm, so you haven't sounded out any leadership run?

ANDREW HASTIE: No.

JOURNALIST: Are you aware of anyone else who might have sounded out on your behalf?

ANDREW HASTIE: No.

JOURNALIST: So you will remain a backbencher for the time?

ANDREW HASTIE: It's pretty simple, guys. That's why I'm fronting up. There's no challenge to Sussan. I support Sussan and tried to do this in good faith, and here we are.

JOURNALIST: Why didn't you meet with her while she was here?

ANDREW HASTIE: She has a schedule. I had some leave earlier in the week, a bit of a medical procedure myself, I won't go into detail there. I was just busy on school holidays with my kids, recovering.

JOURNALIST: Did she extend the invite for you to join her on any of these occasions?

ANDREW HASTIE: She knew I was on leave. There's no scuttlebutt here guys. It's pretty straightforward.

JOURNALIST: You spoke about keeping it to just a relatively few number of people that you disclosed this to. Do you have any kind of mentors, political mentors that helped you develop [inaudible]?

ANDREW HASTIE: The same way I'm not going to go into the private conversations I had with Sussan, I'm not going to go into other conversations that I might have had. Suffice to say, I didn't consult widely and my objective was not to create any sort of instability for Sussan. I wanted to do this orderly and in a respectful manner and I think that's what I've done so far.

JOURNALIST: It seems a lot of your views on these policies are pretty well received amongst a lot of WA Liberal MPs. Do you think there is a marked difference between the West Australian Liberal Party and your counterparts in New South Wales and Melbourne?

ANDREW HASTIE: I don't think so. I think we do need to renew our party, though. I think all the political parties struggle with engaging with young Australians, and I think that's the challenge for the Labor Party and for the Liberal Party and for the National Party. I think that's a national problem. A lot of young Australians feel politically disenfranchised because the cheap credit boom is over. They wonder how on earth are they ever going to get into a home. And until we start talking about things like that, we're not going to engage young Australians. I'll do one more question and then I'll leave it there.

JOURNALIST: You said previously that you would quit the party if it did arrive at a Net Zero policy. Is that still the case?

ANDREW HASTIE: I never said I'd quit the party. I said I'd leave the front bench. I've left the front bench, but not on that issue. That was just a narrative that built up. It was incorrect.

JOURNALIST: So you'll remain a politician?

ANDREW HASTIE: Yes, I'm a proud member of the Liberal Party. I was only elected into the seat of Canning on the Liberal Party platform, and I wish to remain part of the Liberal Party.

JOURNALIST: Even if it has a Net Zero policy?

ANDREW HASTIE: I remain committed to the Liberal Party. Thanks very much, guys.

[ENDS]