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Transcripts
September 16, 2026
SENATOR JAMES PATERSON
SHADOW MINISTER FOR DEFENCE
SENATOR FOR VICTORIA
TRANSCRIPT
DOORSTOP, AUSTRALIAN PARLIAMENT HOUSE
Wednesday, 16 September 2026
Topics: Security of ADF bases, One Nation, migration policy, housing, Victorian election, Labor’s sports grants hypocrisy
E&OE…………………………………………………………………………………………
JOURNALIST Senator, how concerned are you about the developments from the base in Darwin with the man getting onto the base?
PATERSON: Look these media reports are troubling. It's always a concern when an unauthorised person gets access to an ADF base. It looks like in this instance that it was able to be responded to by military police and local police. But we need our bases to be secure. We need to make sure that unauthorised persons, whether they are someone who has got mental health issues, someone who is drunk or whether they're someone with malign intent acting on behalf of a foreign power, are not able to access our bases. And I really think the Department needs to be constantly reviewing the security of our bases to make sure incidents like this can't happen.
JOURNALIST: Pauline Hanson claimed yesterday that you're behind leaks involving comments that she's made. What's your response to that? Were you involved?
PATERSON: It was a bit puzzling. Pauline Hanson provided no evidence for her claims and Kieran Gilbert, who was interviewing her, said that Tim Wilson and I were not the source of News24's story about this. It's not true. I think what One Nation is experiencing, which they're not used to, is because they say they're a party of government. Because they say they want to provide the Prime Minister and a cabinet and govern Australia, they're attracting scrutiny that they're not used to and that's uncomfortable and different. But it doesn't require a private investigator to find a YouTube video of a podcast that Pauline Hansen or Malcolm Roberts or other One Nation members have done. That's just attracting more attention than it used to because One Nation is polling higher. And I think scrutiny of people's public comments is a healthy and normal thing in a democracy.
JOURNALIST: Does Pauline Hanson have a glass jaw?
PATERSON: I think Pauline Hanson certainly shows some real sensitivity to criticism and to questions. I mean, I think it's extraordinary that she seeks to exclude some media outlets from her press conferences and refuses to appear on some media channels. In a dangerous world you have to be able to show strength and stand up for Australia. If you're intimidated by the ABC and the Guardian, I seriously question your ability to do so.
JOURNALIST: Just quickly, sorry if this has already been asked, but Labor is announcing their migration policy tomorrow ...
PATERSON: Are they? Are they?
JOURNALIST: Well, there's a report out that they may be doing that tomorrow. What do you think should be in it and where's yours?
PATERSON: Well, I'm excited to see what the government has to offer after, apparently, Tony Burke has now been to Cabinet six times and been rolled at least five times. The Prime Minister has publicly humiliated him by rolling him on a reduction in the asylum seeker numbers. And the Cabinet rolled him over whether he was allowed to deliver a National Press Club address. When that was first cancelled, they said it was simply going to be rescheduled in a couple of weeks, and we are still waiting. So, I look forward to whatever detail Tony Burke can provide, but I'm deeply sceptical about Labor's ability to deliver. Because for four years they've failed to deliver. As for our own policy, we are close to releasing it but we're actually going to do the work to get it right because we are not the government. We are seeking to be the government after the next election and we're not going to put out a half-baked policy like One Nation has that hasn't even been costed. the budgetary impacts of which they have no idea.
JOURNALIST: Does close mean before Christmas?
PATERSON: I'm not going to put a specific time on it, but it's close.
JOURNALIST: How much should migration be cut by?
PATERSON: Well, that'll be a question that we'll answer as part of our policy, but what we've already said is you need to match the migration intake with the housing completions. And so that gives you a rough idea of where we'd settle. Certainly, the number which we would settle below. Because it's been out of control over the last four and a half years under Labor. We've been bringing in millions of people but building a tiny fraction of the houses needed to accommodate them. It's why rents are surging. It's why housing affordability is such a crisis.
JOURNALIST: Can you confirm working holiday visa makers won't be cut as part of your plan?
PATERSON: I'll leave it for the relevant portfolio stakeholders to make announcements about that.
JOURNALIST: Are you concerned that there already seems to be a bit of a pause under Labor and what that's doing to farmers and their ability to harvest their crops?
PATERSON: Look again, I'll leave the specifics to my colleagues. But as a general principle, we do think it's important that we have access to skilled labour and whatever policy we announce will have a more sustainable migration number, but still make sure Australia has access to the skilled labour it needs.
JOURNALIST: Just quickly on housing, new numbers out this morning indicate that the sales of new houses has dropped by something like 20%. What do you think that will do to the building of new houses and [inaudible] supply?
PATERSON: Well, sadly, this is the entirely predictable result of Labor's tax changes to CGT and negative gearing. They were warned, and it is now coming to pass. It's not good for our economy, it's not good for the building industry, and it's not good for first-home buyers. We've seen a crash in the number of loans written by the banks to first-home buyers - the people who are supposed to benefit from Labor's policy, while the housing prices are coming down and volumes are dropping as well. This is a disaster of Labor's own making, and the only way to fix it is to hit reverse and stop the tax changes.
JOURNALIST: Are you're encouraged by Red Bridge polling in Victoria? Do you think Jess Wilson will be the next Premier?
PATERSON: Look, I'd certainly rather it be Jess Wilson than any other political leader in Victoria right now. But there's two and a half months to go and no one has cast a vote yet, and we've still got work to do to make the case as to why Victoria needs a fresh start under the Liberals and Nationals, under Jess Wilson's leadership. I think what we have seen very clearly is that Ben Carroll has been there the whole time. He's been around the cabinet table under Daniel Andrews. He's been the Deputy Premier under Jacinta Allan. Try as he might to distance himself from their legacy, he owns it. He owns every decision they made, and I think that's why the public has been so sceptical about his last-minute conversions on so many issues right before an election. Thanks everyone.
JOURNALIST: I was going to ask about the grants program.
PATERSON: Alright, one last one. Then I've got to go.
JOURNALIST: Mark Butler's [inaudible] five-million-dollar grant for a women's soccer club upgrade. What questions do you think Labor needs to answer in how that money was awarded?
PATERSON: Look, Labor is guilty of the most gross hypocrisy on this issue. They screamed bloody murder under previous governments when similar grants were made. In fact, they demanded the resignations of cabinet ministers over this. Now, what the Prime Minister has done and what Mark Butler appears to do is at least as bad as the practises that were exposed under previous governments. And if they were consistent and true to their word, then they would fall on their swords and take responsibility for what they've done. Thanks everyone.
ENDS