Media
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Transcripts
March 2, 2026
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CHRIS KENNY: Let's head straight down to Canberra then and catch up with Shadow Defence Minister Senator James Paterson. Thanks for joining us, James. Look, Anthony Albanese has kind of supported the Israeli and U.S. action against Iran. Has he been strong enough in supporting this action?
SENATOR JAMES PATERSON: Well, Chris, I think it's a good thing and an appropriate thing that the Australian government is supportive of this action. But like you, I've noticed there are some weasel words and careful language in the Prime Minister's statements about this. For example, he said he welcomes the United States action in this. Of course, it's a joint operation between Israel and the United States. It would not have happened if it weren't a joint operation between Israel and the United States. And we should state that we're supportive of both what Israel and the United States are doing here in Iran, because otherwise it wouldn't have proceeded. The Prime Minister has also said that he doesn't mourn and no one would mourn the departure of the Ayatollah Khamenei. But actually shouldn't we just be saying it's a good thing that the Ayatollah has been removed from power as a result of this joint action by the United States and Israel? So I do give the credit to the government for welcoming this action but of course I think he has one eye on domestic politics and his left wing base, and he is conscious of not being too overt in his welcoming of this action.
CHRIS KENNY: Now there's no doubt about this and nobody wants war and lives have been lost and will be lost but we can just see from the response of Iran what sort of a regime it is because it's attacking civilian targets in states like the United Arab Emirates which are not directly involved so it's trying to spread the terror if you like and the other point here is we've got to talk about what The benefits of this action are, the benefits for Middle East peace and eliminating the spread of global terrorism as well as the threat of nuclear weapons and long-range missiles is huge, isn't it?
SENATOR JAMES PATERSON: Chris, when people show you who they are, you should believe them the first time. And the Iranian regime has shown us who they are in their slaughter of their own citizens, in their sponsorship of terrorism around the Middle East and the world, in their sponsorship of state-sponsored terror in our country, in Australia, and now, of course, as you say, with this indiscriminate rocket fire targeting their neighbours who are not parties to the conflict and targeting civilian assets and infrastructure, including hotels, airports, roads, and other significant features of the United Arab Emirates and Qatar and others. So it's very clear the nature of this regime, and it's very clear that the world would be a better place if this regime were no longer in power. Certainly, it would be better for Iranians. And if we're in any doubt about where we should stand on this, just look at the joy with which the Iranian diaspora in Australia and the rest of the world have welcomed these attacks and welcomed the Ayatollah's removal from power.
CHRIS KENNY: Well, one aspect of this that you've campaigned for over a long period of time, and the government finally acted on last year, was the listing of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps as a terror group in Australia. Now this is effectively the Ayatollah's key military wing, the Ayatollah's private army, the late Ayatollah that is, yet we read that Australian mosques in the coming days are proposing to hold prayer services for the Ayatollah, for the martyrdom of the Ayatollah. Could these prayer services be in breach of that listing of the IRGC?
SENATOR JAMES PATERSON: It is possible, Chris, yes. It's deeply disturbing, whether it's a violation of the law or not, that anyone in Australia thinks it's a good idea to hold a celebration of the life of the Ayatollah after everything he has done to our country, the Middle East and Iranians, but it may also be a breach of the law. Because it is an offence to glorify terrorism. It is an offence to praise a terrorist organisation in a way that incites others to take out an act of terrorism. And of course, it's also an offence to display a symbol or logo of a listed terrorist organisation. Now, as you say, as a result of Coalition campaigning, the IRGC, which the Ayatollah is the head of, is now listed as a terrorist organisation in this country. So I hope the federal police are now investigating these mosques and anyone associated with those activities for breaches of the law.
CHRIS KENNY: I just want to share with you some of the commentary we've had from the taxpayer-funded media in this country, the ABC, and their Americas editor, John Lyons. Have a look at this.
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JOHN LYONS: My main impression is that this is being driven by Israel, and what we just heard was the President of the United States, in my assessment, almost saying word for word Israel's agenda.
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CHRIS KENNY: So it's all about the evil agenda, supposedly, of Israel, as if Israel doesn't have a right to have an agenda to defend itself. But is this sort of commentary from the ABC what taxpayers should expect?
SENATOR JAMES PATERSON: Those comments by John Lyons are reckless and irresponsible, given the climate of antisemitism we've seen in our country since October 7. One of the tropes, one of the antisemitic conspiracy theories about the Jewish community and Israel, is that they secretly control foreign governments, including the U.S. government. Now it is ludicrous to suggest that President Trump is controlled by anyone other than himself and that he's not making decisions in what he believes is the U.S. national interest and consistent with U.S. values. So, for John Lyons to suggest that is outrageous, he should have apologised, and the ABC should haul him in if he will not apologise. Equally inappropriate were his comments about our Prime Minister, suggesting that the statement from the Australian Government reflected, quote, political propaganda. Now, I am no defender of Anthony Albanese, but in this instance, all he was doing was stating the obvious and appropriate Australian Government position, which is, we are in favour of degrading the nuclear and ballistic arms capability of a terror state like Iran, and to suggest that that's political propaganda is again completely unhinged. John Lyons really needs to be brought back to heel.
CHRIS KENNY: Yeah, it is just beyond the pale. I want to go to Question Time today in the Lower House, and Anthony Albanese was questioned on the return of Islamic State families to Australia, whether his government had provided any assistance. Here's part of his response.
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PRIME MINISTER ANTHONY ALBANESE: We are not repatriating these people. We have made it clear. A non-government organisation took us to court demanding that we do that. We opposed that court action. We won the court decision, and those opposite know that this is the case. The hypocrisy on this is extraordinary given that 40 people came home on their watch, including not partners or relatives, including ISIS fighters.
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CHRIS KENNY: Is he right, James Paterson, in that this government is doing nothing that previous Coalition governments haven't done?
SENATOR JAMES PATERSON: Well, previous Coalition governments used the powers available to them to, firstly, take out temporary exclusion orders to keep people offshore. We did so on eight occasions. This government's only done so on one occasion. And previous Coalition governments refused and cancelled hundreds of passports to suspected ISIS fighters and supporters to either prevent them from leaving our country, from joining Islamic State, or to prevent them from returning to Australia after they left to join Islamic State. This government has failed to do so. In fact, they've been telling us that they have no power to do so when Section [14] of the 2005 Australian Passports Act is clear that the government can, and in our view should, refuse and cancel passports for anyone who represents a security threat to Australia as an ISIS supporter clearly does.
CHRIS KENNY: James Paterson, thanks so much for joining us.
SENATOR JAMES PATERSON: Thanks, Chris.
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