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August 19, 2025
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BRIDGET BRENNAN: Time now to talk about the day's top stories with Shadow Finance Minister James Paterson, who joins us now from Melbourne. Good morning to you, Senator.
SENATOR JAMES PATERSON: Good morning, Bridget.
BRIDGET BRENNAN: Good to talk to you. Look, let's talk about the government's economic roundtable in a moment, but first, if I can just take you to foreign affairs, what did you make of the summit in Washington? Is there a plausible path for peace in Ukraine, do you think?
SENATOR JAMES PATERSON: Well, certainly a historic meeting at the White House between Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President Trump and several key European leaders. And we all hope that it is a constructive step towards peace in Ukraine. Of course, what we need for peace in Ukraine is for Vladimir Putin and Russia to end their illegal invasion. And it's very clear that if there is to be a durable peace, that security guarantees for Ukraine are going to be necessary. Now, that would have to be led by the United States and European partners. But if Australia is invited to play a role in that, then we should consider whether we can make a constructive contribution to that.
BRIDGET BRENNAN: And would that include your support for potential Australian peacekeepers in the region in a non-combat role, for example?
SENATOR JAMES PATERSON: We're clearly not a central player in this conflict, but we do have a very strong interest in making sure that this isn't just a pause in Vladimir Putin's war that is resumed at a later date. We want it to be long-lasting. And so we should consider any requests from our allies and friends in Europe as to whether we could make a symbolic contribution towards this. Very clearly, the heavy lifting would be done by NATO in this instance, but we are a partner of NATO, and if we're asked to make a contribution, we should consider it.
BRIDGET BRENNAN: Was it concerning to you to see those images of Donald Trump rolling out the red carpet for Vladimir Putin last week?
SENATOR JAMES PATERSON: Look, I don't want to prejudge the outcome of this negotiation, this peace process, before it's included. Of course, a lot of people are unsettled to see a dictator, an aggressor, treated in a way that conveys respect. But if it achieves an outcome and ends a bloody war, then I think we should give it the opportunity to succeed.
BRIDGET BRENNAN: Let's talk about the situation in Israel and Gaza and some of the diplomatic ructions that are happening. Israel's Foreign Minister has revoked the visas of Australian representatives to the Palestinian Authority. Does this show that we've got a weakening relationship with Israel, and is this a productive move?
SENATOR JAMES PATERSON: Well, there's no question that Australia's bilateral relationship with Israel is the worst it has ever been since the creation of the state of Israel following World War II. And the expulsion, effectively, of our diplomats from the West Bank is extremely regrettable. It, of course, follows the decision by our Home Affairs Minister, Tony Burke, to block a visa for a visiting member of the Israeli Parliament to Australia. Now, that member of the Knesset, Mr Rothman, I have to say I'm not familiar with all his views. I'm sure there would be things that he has said that I would disagree with. Certainly I disagree with his political party and his leader when it comes to Gaza and the two-state solution. But it is a very big call to block the visa of a visiting member of parliament from another country. And my question is, did Tony Burke discuss the diplomatic implications of that decision with the foreign minister Penny Wong before he made it? Did he discuss it with the Prime Minister? Was the National Security Committee of Cabinet convened to discuss this? This is not a decision to be taken lightly, and all the implications should have been considered, and it's not clear that that occurred.
BRIDGET BRENNAN: Alright, let's go to the Government's roundtable. The Treasurer has asked for firm, concrete ideas to be taken to the summit. What's the Coalition taking?
SENATOR JAMES PATERSON: Well, it seems like one of the biggest ideas that might come out of the roundtable is actually an election commitment that the Liberal Party took to the last election, which is to freeze the National Construction Code for a decade. Now, the reason why that's important is this is one of the biggest pieces of red tape imposed at the national level on housing and construction. It makes it slower and more expensive to build houses in this country. And actually, this election commitment from the Liberal Party was ridiculed by Labor during the election, but it looks like they've had a change of heart, and they're now considering adopting it. If that's one of the outcomes of the productivity summit, then that would be a very welcome thing.
BRIDGET BRENNAN: Have you got concerns around AI regulation? Business sounds like it wants a relatively light touch on regulation. There are other concerns about our copyright and other creeping concerns around AI. What's the Coalition's position on this?
SENATOR JAMES PATERSON: There certainly are risks with AI that do need to be managed and sensible regulation that can be put in place to make sure that those risks don't get out of control. But overwhelmingly, I think artificial intelligence will be a positive thing for Australia. It does offer us an opportunity to significantly increase productivity if it's deployed effectively in the private sector. And I am concerned about demands from the union movement that they should have a veto power as to whether AI is rolled out in the workplace. If that's the case, that will only hold Australia's economy back, and it's critically important that Jim Chalmers resists that pressure from some in the union movement and in his own government to do that.
BRIDGET BRENNAN: Alright, James Paterson, good to talk to you, thanks very much.
SENATOR JAMES PATERSON: Great to be with you. Thank you.
ENDS