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Transcripts
March 3, 2026
SALLY SARA: Senator James Paterson is the Shadow Minister for Defence and joins me now. James Paterson, welcome back to Breakfast.
SENATOR JAMES PATERSON: Good to be with you, Sally.
SALLY SARA: Does the opposition support these strikes on Iran, and do you have evidence that they are legal?
SENATOR JAMES PATERSON: Yes, we do support the strikes on Iran for a couple of reasons. Firstly, we assess that it is in Australia's national interest. It is in Australia's national interest because Iran's ballistic and nuclear weapons program is a threat to international peace and security. And although both were degraded in the strikes last year by Israel and [the United States], any further degradation to those programs that sets them back further is a good thing. And secondly, because Iran is a malignant actor, that is the largest state sponsor of terror not just in the Middle East through its proxies like Hamas, and Hezbollah, and the Houthis, but also we found here in Australia in recent years our security agencies assessed that at least two of the antisemitic terror attacks that we had in our country including the firebombing of the Adass Israel synagogue in Melbourne was the responsibility of Iran.
SALLY SARA: A number of Shia mosques and Islamic institutions in Sydney and Melbourne are holding public memorials and prayer sessions mourning the death of Iran's former supreme leader. You've suggested these services could be in breach of current laws. In what way?
SENATOR JAMES PATERSON: Well, firstly, they're just not appropriate. No one should be holding a mourning for the head of a regime which sponsored terror attacks in Australia.
SALLY SARA: Is it free speech?
SENATOR JAMES PATERSON: Secondly, the IRGC, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, of which the Ayatollah is the spiritual leader and head, is now a listed terrorist organisation in Australia and it is a crime to praise or glorify listed terrorist organisations in a way that could incite others to commit acts of terrorism. It's also a crime to display the symbols and logos of a listed terrorist organisation. So I think the Federal Police should be investigating as to whether those events are in violation of the law.
SALLY SARA: The Coalition has refused to support a motion censuring One Nation leader Senator Pauline Hanson for suggesting there are no good Muslims, arguing such a sanction would not routinely be used for public commentary. You've voted previously to censure Lydia Thorpe and Ralph Babet previously. Why doesn't Senator Hanson meet the bar for censure in this case?
SENATOR JAMES PATERSON: Well, actually, we voted for every element of that motion instead of the censure, and we moved an amendment which suggested that Senator Hanson should be condemned rather than censured for her comments. We have previously voted to censure Senator Hanson. The reason why we think she should be condemned for those comments is that they were appalling and they were wrong. There are many good and decent Muslim Australians, including those in my portfolio, who serve our nation in uniform, patriotically and with distinction. But censuring someone in the Senate is usually reserved for the worst conduct and particularly relates to their behaviour as a Senator in the Senate or as a minister represented in the Senate. We don't think it should be routinely used just to condemn people for making statements that we may profoundly disagree with, as we do in this instance.
SALLY SARA: Just finally, the Liberal Party has opted not to publicly release its review into the 2025 election. There have been some reports of leaking. What is the risk in not releasing this report?
SENATOR JAMES PATERSON: I'm not a member of the Federal Executive, so I didn't participate in that decision and I haven't read the report so I don't know exactly the reasons for it, but as you say, there are elements of it that appear to be released in public and it's certainly not stopping anyone having a debate about our performance at the last election, which I think is self-evident.
SALLY SARA: What do you say to those who have leaked this report?
SENATOR JAMES PATERSON: I always think that it's better not to leak confidential information into the public domain. I think party matters are best dealt with by the party organisation.
SALLY SARA: James Paterson, we'll need to leave it there this morning. Thank you for your time.
SENATOR JAMES PATERSON: Thank you.
ENDS