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Transcripts
October 14, 2026
SHARRI MARKSON: I am joined by Shadow Defence Minister James Paterson. James, thank you very much for your time. As I said, this is a serious issue and one that you personally first exposed at least a year or two years ago, the fact that taxpayer-funded grants were being given to organisations promoting extremism. What needs to be done about this?
SENATOR JAMES PATERSON: You're right, Sharri, it was two years ago in Senate estimates that I put to the Department of Home Affairs that they had given taxpayers' money under so-called social cohesion grants to organisations that were promoting hatred of the Jewish community, antisemitism and extremism. And at the time, I just thought it was sloppiness. I thought it carelessness. I thought the department was not doing adequate due diligence, and they were handing out taxpayers' money to organisations who never should have received it. This has now happened so many times, this is now continuing to happen even after Bondi that it is very difficult to say anymore that it's just incompetence, that it is just laziness, that it is just a failure to do due diligence. It looks to me like it's deliberate. And I don't think it's a coincidence that the person ultimately responsible, the minister ultimately responsible, is Tony Burke. And it is his electorate which is a primary beneficiary. He would know these organisations and these leaders better than anyone. And given the previous failures of Home Affairs to adequately vet organisations, he should have taken a personal interest to make sure that not one cent of taxpayers' money went to an Islamist extremist organisation. The fact that it has is his responsibility, that he must own and he must take responsibility for. Tony Burke owns this.
MARKSON: By the way, I put questions to him today about any links he has to OnePath, and he came back strongly and said he's got nothing to do with them, no relationship with them whatsoever. So just adding that in there. James, Anne Aly said in Parliament that she's looking at using the technology that screens visas to screen grants. Do you think that this seems like a good solution? Or is there another way? I mean, these grants weren't issued under the coalition government, were they?
PATERSON: We didn't have this problem when the Coalition was last in power. We were not handing taxpayers' money over to Islamist extremists who were using it to undermine social cohesion and damage our national unity. It's only been a problem under Labor in recent years. They should have known from 7 October onwards, and they should have known two years ago when they got this warning in Senate estimates that their processes were not up to scratch. The fact that it's only now, long after Bondi, long after, in my view, extremism like this contributed to events like Bondi, that they are now saying that they may look at some technology that might fix this. They just shouldn't have given this money in the first place. There's no excuse for it, and political leadership from the ministerial level should have stopped it.
MARKSON: And just finally, quickly on this issue before we move on to other topics, quite extraordinary that your colleague Evan had spoken about one of these places months ago in the Victorian Senate.
PATERSON: That's exactly right. Evan has shown great leadership in the Victorian parliament on this issue. He's courageously called this out and copped a pretty serious backlash from the Labor Party in Victoria, who have knowingly associated with these extremists as well, plus some elements of the Muslim community in Victoria who do have extreme views and should be condemned for them. And he was ahead of the curve in calling this out, in warning people about it, and they should have heeded those warnings.
MARKSON: Yeah, indeed. Just before we went to air tonight, the Coalition had a major win, it looks like. The reports are, James, that you've managed to team up with the crossbench in the Senate to block Labor's changes to private health insurance. So can you tell us what's happened here and how this will impact on the more than three million older Australians who were looking at premium rises of hundreds of dollars?
PATERSON: That's right Sharri, so in their wisdom, the Albanese government decided that the best way to save money was to take away rebates from pensioners and self-funded retirees who use private health insurance and, in doing so, take pressure off the public system. Australians aged 65 and over were going to be paying up to $800 each more, $1600 for couples, for their private health insurance in the middle of a cost of living crisis in this incredibly mean-spirited move by the Albanese government. But they have been defeated in the Senate today, led by the Liberals and Nationals, but supported across the chamber by other parties, including the Greens. And it has left Mark Butler in a very embarrassing place. I mean, this guy's been trailing his coat as a future leader of the Labor Party to replace Anthony Albanese, and his signature budget savings measure has just blown up in his face. And so it should have, given how cruel it was to older Australians.
MARKSON: I just want to go back to the comments that the Treasurer made about One Nation in that speech. I mean, we know both major parties are really struggling to know how to respond to this new phenomenon of the rise of One Nation. The Treasurer says Labor shouldn't mock One Nation voters. I mean, quite an extraordinary thing to have to say, but it is the case that the Coalition doesn't know how to react to the rise of Pauline Hanson either. How do you think the parties should respond?
PATERSON: Well, our primary political opponent is the Labor Party. The purpose that the Liberal Party exists for is to get the Labor Party out of office and to govern well for Australians. But One Nation is also a political competitor for us that seems very intent on trying to take seats off the Liberal and National Party, judging by the amount of time they spend in our seats, even though they say that their aim, too, is to is to get rid of the Labor Party. And so when One Nation makes policy errors, when they say silly things, I think they can and should be called out on that. But I agree with the Treasurer that voters must always be treated with respect, that they have legitimate grievances with our political system, with the direction of our country, that have understandable frustrations, including with the Liberal and National parties and that we need to listen to them and do better to earn back their trust and support.
MARKSON: Yeah, I think it's extraordinary that some of the Coalition's best performers, like Andrew Hastie, who should have a big future ahead of him, I mean, he could be gone at the next election because of One Nation's campaign. Just finally, James, you've introduced a bill today, which would give both houses the power to block the sale of key military sites. Now you've done this, amid this battle to save Victoria Barracks, which you've had a petition on, and you have been campaigning on. I mean, given so many very experienced war veterans have spoken out against this, it is hard to believe that the Defence Minister, Richard Marles, is digging his heels in.
PATERSON: Sharri, when I first came on your program to discuss this several months ago now, there were about 11,000 Australians who'd signed my petition. As of tonight, it's up to 108,000 Australians who have said, Australia's military heritage belongs to all of us. It is not the plaything of the Labor Party, and it should not be flogged off. And none less an authority as Sir Peter Cosgrove, the former Governor-General and Chief of the Defence Force, has called out Richard Marles on this. So to give effect to the wishes of those Australians, I've introduced the Protecting Australia's Military Heritage Bill in the Senate today. And if it passes, it will allow the Senate or the House of Representatives to stop the sale of any individual base by making it an instrument that has to be issued by the Finance Minister, which would be disallowable. This means if the government wants to sell a military base, they actually have to make the case for it. They can't just unilaterally do it. If there's a legitimate case for selling some unused block of land, fine. But that does not include Victoria Barracks, Sydney or Melbourne. It does not include HMAS Penguin. It does not include Irwin Barracks. It does not include so many other precious items of heritage around our country. And if you want to add your voice, please visit senatorpaterson.com.au to sign the petition.
MARKSON: Yeah, it's an important petition. I was going to ask you for a reminder about the link for viewers, but you've done that there. Yeah, it is really important. All right, James Paterson. Great, as always, to have you on the program. Thank you.
ENDS