Interview with Natalie Barr, Sunrise
9 October 2024
NATALIE BARR: Welcome back. The Prime Minister is in damage control this morning after being accused of mocking Tourette's sufferers during a heated debate in parliament.
(excerpt of the Prime Minister)
NATALIE BARR: Anthony Albanese apologised and withdrew the comment he directed to the Shadow Treasurer. He even later returned to Parliament to issue a lengthy apology to all Aussies who suffer from Tourette's. For their take, let's bring in housing Minister Clare O'Neil and Shadow Finance Minister Jane Hume, good morning. Clare, he's withdrawn. He's apologised for the comment but many are still outraged that it even happened. Has the Prime Minister done enough?
CLARE O’NEIL: He's a human being, Nat, and he made a mistake. What matters is that immediately after he said these words, he apologised and then, as you point out, he later came back into the Parliament and gave a more extensive apology. He made a mistake. Respectfully, Nat, you probably make mistakes, Jane, you and I both make mistakes in our work in politics. What matters is how we deal with it afterwards and I think it was good that he didn't pretend he hadn't done the wrong thing. He immediately acknowledged it and he did make that apology.
NATALIE BARR: Yeah, Jane, Clare's right. We all mess up sometimes. We all misspeak. Is this enough from the Prime Minister?
JANE HUME: That's right, we do misspeak, particularly when we're under pressure, and mocking people with a disability is no laughing matter. People with Tourette Syndrome deserve our respect, not our ridicule. This has really been an insight into the Prime Minister's character, I think, and ironically, in a week when this parliament is going to be voting on adopting a code of conduct for our own behavior in Parliament, and I hope that the Prime Minister reflects on that when he votes on that motion.
NATALIE BARR: Ok, moving on, the Government's signature housing policies may finally pass through Parliament after the Greens rolled back some key red lines on the Build to Rent, and the Help to Buy schemes. Clare, The Greens won't require rent freezes or a publicly owned property developer, but they're still pushing for a cap to limit rent increases. Would you consider this?
CLARE O'NEIL: Nat, this Bill that we're talking about here, if I can just briefly remind your viewers, this is about getting 40,000 childcare workers, chefs, hairdressers, ordinary people into home ownership, because our government has a basic belief we want to live in a country where ordinary people can own their own home. It's a really important piece of legislation. I'm hopeful that The Greens will see a bit of sense and come in and help us move this forward. Unfortunately, for all the rhetoric about housing, we've faced pretty consistent delays in some of the things the government has been trying to do to address the housing crisis. Let's hope that we can get this through the Parliament so at the end of the day, we're able to help people. That's what we’re here for.
NATALIE BARR: Jane, it sounds like The Greens are conceding some ground on this. Where does the Coalition stand?
JANE HUME: The Coalition has objected to this bill from day one. It's bad legislation. The government will co own your home with you. Australians have already rejected this policy right around the country, because the states already have this policy in most states and in one state, my own state, it's already being unwound because it is so unpopular. The Coalition has been clear from the start, we don't agree with this policy. If the Labor Party want to deal with The Greens, good luck to them. But we know that they're going to have to make some pretty serious concessions, which is why they're looking at winding back negative gearing, which is why they're looking at winding back capital gains tax discounts. This is not great for housing. We're already behind on approvals. We're behind on construction. We're behind on new first home owners.
NATALIE BARR (INTERRUPTS): So wouldn't you just give this a go? Like, ten thousand a year is something, isn't it?
JANE HUME: No, Nat, it's already been given a go by the states, and it's not working.
NATALIE BARR: Well, it’s working in some, I think KeyStart is working in WA people seem to say it's working.
JANE HUME: It’s already being unwound in my home state of Victoria, because nobody wants to co-own their home with Anthony Albanese.
NATALIE BARR: Well, not nobody. I think there has been eighty thousand over the years in WA, so there are some.
JANE HUME: Do you want to own a home with the government? Would you like to have Anthony Albanese as your landlord? I don’t think so.
NATALIE BARR: I’m in the lucky position that I got to buy mine when they were cheaper years ago. But, I don't know how my kids are going to buy one?
JANE HUME: Nat, you and I know that the only way to increase home ownership in this country is to open up supply. If Anthony Albanese had a modicum of respect by his State Premiers, then he would be able to talk to them to open up housing supply in the states, that's the only way we're going to be able to make homeownership affordable for all Australians.
NATALIE BARR: Moving on now to something else that's come up today, the Coalition is demanding the government explain its visa vetting process amid reports, a Palestinian man who had previously hosted political members of Hamas and other terror groups at an art institute in Gaza was granted entry into this country in July. Clare, what do you know about this?
CLARE O'NEIL: Well, Nat, what I know is that we have some of the finest national security agencies in the world, people who have worked hard to protect Australians, who have been able to protect us from significant harm, that could have befallen our citizens. What I know is that the visa process here is robust, that every single person who has received a visa from Gaza has been checked by ASIO, and I have real confidence in the people who are doing that hard work for our people and our government.
NATALIE BARR: So Clare, are you happy that Fayez Elhasani, who had two of his sons and three of his brothers, who are on the record as, before they died, as supporting Hamas or other terror organisations that he hosted at his Gaza Art Institute, was given a visa into this country, I think when you were Home Affairs Minister.
CLARE O'NEIL: Well, Nat, I'm sorry I can't speak to the individual circumstances of this particular person. What I can tell you is that there's a really good process in place here. Every single person who's got a visa from Gaza has been checked individually by ASIO and not just that, but ASIO actually conducts continuous intelligence checks on people who are here on visas, and I do have confidence in that process.
NATALIE BARR: Okay, well, he's now, apparently, staying with his daughter. So are you happy with those checks Jane? Our top authorities are going through them.
JANE HUME: Well, ASIO told us only a few months ago that as little as liking a tweet that supports Hamas terrorist organisations is enough to get a visa denied. So was this fellow given a visa and then the security check was done? Or was a security check done before he got the visa? Was the Minister made aware, Clare? Were you made aware of this? The approval of this visa at the time, and is this man going to be sent home now? Is this visa going to be canceled? This is a question that the government needs to answer today, because if we keep being assured that these security checks are being done, and yet, more and more people seem to be in this country that wish to cause Australian citizens harm.
NATALIE BARR: Clare, when you read his background, that he had relatives supporting Hamas, does that concern you?
CLARE O'NEIL: Look Nat, again, these are really fair questions, and I completely understand why you're asking them. I'm not able to speak to the individual circumstances of this case, I can tell you that we've got a robust process put in place that we've got fantastic national security agencies, and they're very intensively involved in our visa process in this country.
NATALIE BARR: Okay, thank you very much for your time. We'll see you next week here.