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Transcripts
April 20, 2026
SHARRI MARKSON: All right, let's bring in now Shadow Defence Minister James Paterson. James, thank you so much for your time. Look, what did you make of Penny Wong's failure to endorse American action against the oppressive regime in Iran?
SENATOR JAMES PATERSON: Well, the government's been crab-walking away from their initial positive statements immediately after the strikes on Iran. They quite rightly and appropriately welcomed it because, in really simple terms, Sharri, when your friends are bombing your enemies, the least you can do is provide them with moral and rhetorical support. And initially, the Albanese government did that. Let's not forget the Islamic Republic of Iran is responsible for at least two terrorist attacks on Australian soil, among many other crimes. So I think we should be in favour of the United States and Israel succeeding in this conflict, because a failure of the United States and Israel would be a disaster for the world, for the region and for Australia, because it would probably mean that the Iranian regime remains intact, that it retains control over the Strait of Hormuz, that the IRGC can use it as a tollbooth to raise revenue to fund their terror proxies around the Middle East and that they can continue to proceed with not just a drone program and a ballistic missiles program, but a nuclear enrichment program. So Australia should be unambiguous. We want the United States and Israel to succeed in this conflict.
SHARRI MARKSON: I mean, she could have given an answer exactly like that to Andrew Clennell, and instead she described the President as unpredictable, utterly bizarre. Now, Iran, as you know, James pledged to open the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, then reneged on that. Do you think we are seeing a split between the military and the political leadership?
SENATOR JAMES PATERSON: That would be understandable if that was the case, Sharri, because obviously there's been a decimation of the Iranian civilian and military leadership. There are many more junior people now calling the shots, and they're in an environment where it's very difficult for them to communicate and meet safely, given the Israeli and US strikes on them. So it's highly likely there are splits in the regime. And we've known, even in more peaceful times, there have been disputes between the military and between religious leaders in the regime over other issues. It is very undesirable to have Iran again closing the Strait of Hormuz and extorting the world through that critical shipping channel. And I do understand why the United States has taken the action it has of using the Gulf of Oman to effectively have a blockade on Iranian ships passing through, because if US and other allied ships can't pass through, then no one should be able to pass through until this is settled.
SHARRI MARKSON: I spoke about this a bit earlier. What do you make of the absurdity of the far left and also some on the right in the MAGA movement, effectively cheerleading for the IRGC because of their personal disdain for Trump and Israel?
SENATOR JAMES PATERSON: I think it's unhinged, and I find it very difficult to understand for any sane person who would want to line up on the side of the Ayatollahs and the Islamic Republic. Even if you didn't care about the havoc that they've wreaked over the Middle East for many years, their terrorist proxies that have targeted Israel and others. Even if you didn't care that they persecuted their own people in their tens of thousands, murdered them just this year alone in response to domestic protests. This is a regime which is responsible, according to our intelligence agencies, for the firebombing of the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne and Lewis' Continental Kitchen in Sydney. These are terror attacks, financed, sponsored, and orchestrated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of the Islamic Republic of Iran. And so it should be an easy choice for Australians. Whatever you think of the United States under President Trump, whatever you think about Israel under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, you should not side with an Islamist regime that has perpetrated terror against our own soil.
SHARRI MARKSON: Just a couple of extra topics before you go. The economy today, as I was speaking about with Paul Howes, HSBC has warned that Australia does now face stagflation. Now, Jim Chalmers held a press conference today. He admitted Treasury is examining worst-case scenarios. Presumably, that includes a recession. But how much of this is owing to global factors, James, and how much is because of the Albanese government?
SENATOR JAMES PATERSON: Well, Sharri, stagflation is economic misery. It is when prices rise, and unemployment rises at the same time. It was a feature of the 1970s, and it's rearing its ugly head again. And it's not a coincidence that just as the Albanese government indulges in 1970s-style economic policy, we've got 1970s style economic problems. And one of the core drivers of this is the excessive spending that the Albanese government has engaged in in the lead-up to this crisis. And, yes, we now have a war in Iran, and that is driving up global commodity prices, including oil, but let's remember that inflation and interest rates were already on the rise prior to the outbreak of conflict in Iran. And so Australia has entered this conflict in perhaps the weakest position of any country in the developed world, where they had their inflation falling and they had interest rates coming down.
SHARRI MARKSON: Look, just finally, the Defence Minister Richard Marles, your opposite number, has said that he's going to move towards, this isn't a precise commitment, but move towards spending 3% of GDP on defence, also investing in missiles and drones. Is this what you've calling for?
SENATOR JAMES PATERSON: If it was a real investment of actually 3% of GDP, I'd be doing cartwheels in the studio right now, Sharri, but unfortunately, that's not the case. We'll only get to 3% potentially in the early to mid 2030s by counting things like military pensions, which we've never previously counted towards that figure. We need a real increase in defence spending that delivers military capability, not an accounting trick, which doesn't put a weapon in the hands of a war fighter or make us any safer as a country.
SHARRI MARKSON: James, really great to have you back on the show. Thank you so much.
ENDS