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September 28, 2026
SYLVIA JEFFREYS: Joining us to discuss today's headlines is Shadow Minister for Defence James Paterson in Melbourne and Independent MP Allegra Spender in Sydney. Morning to you both. James, One Nation's primary vote is almost double the Coalition's. How low do you have to go before Angus Taylor is rolled?
SENATOR JAMES PATERSON: Look, I'm not particularly surprised by these polling results. A lot of Australians feel like our country is headed in the wrong direction. Their real wages have gone backwards. Their taxes are up. Everything's more expensive. We might have another rate rise this week. Diesel's at $3 a litre and people are looking for a radical change from that. And right now, One Nation looks like it's the most significant change on offer. But if you want to actually change the direction of our country and solve the problems, you have to have a credible plan and a credible team. And we know, from One Nation's past, that 70% of the MPs they've ever elected have left the party before the end of their first term or the parliament. And we could elect them, seeking change, and actually end up in a worse position than you are. So we've got a task at our hands, we know that, to convince Australians that we can actually deliver change. We're rolling out our plan, including our fuel price shield, which will halve excise by 27 cents a litre every time fuel prices get out of control. But we've more work to do and we accept that.
JEFFREYS: Well, you're right. The problem is none of that is making any cut through with the electorate when your primary vote in Queensland is sitting at 19% compared to 36% for One Nation. Is Angus Taylor a credible leader?
PATERSON: I think he is and we're doing the hard policy work. We've also outlined that we will index income tax rates, so never again will Australians face bracket creep, pushing them up into the higher income taxes just because prices are rising. We've said that we're going to match immigration levels to housing. We've we're going to restrict welfare to Australian citizens only. We're starting to roll out that plan. We've got more work to do, and we understand that. And I think over time, I think the contrast will become clear.
JEFFREYS: OK, Allegra, the Teals were the last force to pose this kind of existential threat to the opposition. Are you willing to hand the baton off to One Nation now?
ALLEGRA SPENDER MP: To be honest, I think people are really hurting, and I think that is why there is so much anger in the community. But this trend isn't new. This trend away from the major parties, as you said rightly, is part of the trend that got me elected because people have had enough of the major parties. They have had people promising every election, you know, everything will be better under us and then it doesn't actually eventuate. I think that's what has happened, and to be honest, that is actually why I started a new political party, because I think that we need to do something. That's why I started C Community Strong with Zali Steggall, because there does need to be an alternative to the major parties who have delivered, you know, what the circumstances are for a long period of time. House prices, for instance Sydney, that are the second most unaffordable in the world, that has come out of those major parties across all levels of government for a long time. So there's a huge amount of work, I think, to do.
JEFFREYS: Let's get to the AI saga that's been playing out now for a few days in Australia. Cybersecurity experts and tech investors are accusing the Albanese government this morning of blowing the OpenAI hack of a Medicare statistics portal out of proportion. Meanwhile, Labor's political opponents saw it as conveniently timed political posturing at the UN General Assembly. I know you're in that camp, James. You've said you would hardly even call this a hack. But their AI went rogue for weeks, and OpenAI had no idea. Is that of no concern to you?
PATERSON: No, that's absolutely of a concern, and what we should be doing is treating this as a free warning. This time it wasn't serious in terms of the data that was taken or the method of the intrusion. But next time it could be much more serious, and we need to be doubling down and investing, particularly in our government networks, to defend them better, and we're going to need to use AI to do that. We're going to need to attract the best AI technology in the world to Australia to make sure we have access to it, and we are going to need to make sure that we put in place appropriate guardrails and oversight of these AI companies so that we do have a better idea of what they're doing and so risks like this are managed in the future. But that's not assisted by the Prime Minister amping up the fear about what, in technical terms, was a very limited incident.
JEFFREYS: Allegra, Senators are demanding the bosses of OpenAI and Anthropic appear before a Senate inquiry this week. Do they deserve a grilling?
SPENDER: I think that many Australians are rightly worried about AI, and it goes much more broadly than this specific issue in relation to Medicare. I think people are really worried that there are broader risks from AI to the country, including from cyber attacks. So, I don't think those guys are going to turn up, but I do believe that we do expect accountability from those major companies who have such a massive impact on Australia. And I think in this case in particular what we should be trying to do. Is beef up our own AI security, which is why I believe the government needs to invest much more in the AI Safety Institute, because currently it's funded to around $8 million a year. You know what, like, that does not compare a lot to the literally hundreds of billions of dollars that these companies are investing in their own systems. So it is time for the government to step up in terms of that investment.
JEFFREYS: It does. It is a long way off what is needed, isn't it? OK, finally, I want to talk all things epic weekend in Footy, because it is what everyone across the nation is talking about this morning. And I'd love to know what your highlights were from the weekend. Mine was Sandon Smith's incredible intercept and try in the dying moments of that prelim last night in Sydney, and the crowd erupting afterwards. All those Novocastrians in the stands just going absolutely nuts. James, what was your moment?
PATERSON: I'm a Victorian, I'm not going to pretend I know anything about rugby. But four minutes to go in the grand final - I feel very sorry for the Dockers, but Wharfie time is going to become a salutary lesson in premature celebration across every sporting code, every professional facet of life. You never count your chickens before they hatch, and this is why.
JEFFREYS: Especially when you're playing the Lions. I think, Allegra, let me guess, something to do with the Roosters?
SPENDER: Yeah, the Roosters women. I think it's super exciting coming up. We've got both the men and the women in the finals. That is a super, super exciting bill. And I hope they both get through.
JEFFREYS: Good stuff. All right, thank you both for joining us this morning. More footy to enjoy next weekend with the NRL Grand Final, of course. See you soon.
ENDS