Interview with Natalie Barr, Sunrise

24 July 2024

NATALIE BARR: There is heightened concern this morning for the welfare of Aussie’s in Paris after the shocking assault of a young Australian woman in a popular nightlife hotspot, and an attack on two Aussie media staffers in the city as well. Now with safety fears escalating on the eve of the games, the Australian Olympic Committee has also advised athletes not to wear their uniforms while traveling alone. For more, Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil and Shadow Finance Minister Jane Hume join us. Good morning to both of you. Clare, this is horrific news with the Olympics starting this week, how concerned are you for the safety of Australians on the ground?

CLARE O’NEIL: Well, can I just first say about the crime that's allegedly been committed against this young Australian woman in Paris, this is, you know, I felt physically sick reading about what has happened to this young person. And I just want to say to her, on behalf of the Australian government, that every Australian is thinking of her today. People are entitled to travel to a beautiful country like France and do so safely. And what has occurred for this young woman? I just can't tell you how upsetting this is. So, you're raising some really important issues about broader safety for Australians travelling to France. I can tell you a lot of energy and resources and effort has gone in at the French end to trying to secure safety for people going to the games. I'd urge people who are watching to have a look at the Smart Traveller website. If you are intending to head over to Paris, this is actually a really helpful, usable website that gives you some up to date safety information, and I'd just encourage people to have a look at that and make sure they're following the rules. Have fun and stay safe is my advice to people.

NATALIE BARR: Yeah, the footage that you're looking at on the right of your screen. Seven News has been running and this is inside the cafe or the kebab shop or whatever where this woman ran to. And she says that man in the foreground is one of the people who attacked her. It's it's just chilling, then people ran to help one of the people at another and another table then sort of punched it and he ran off chain security advisors to the Aussie Olympic team have warned athletes not even to wear their uniforms and not to go out alone. That's pretty concerning, isn't it? This is the Olympics.

JANE HUME: Well, it's a terrible shame, but it is a stark reminder that all Australians travelling overseas, no matter where they are, should be aware of their circumstances, aware of their surroundings and do everything that they can to make sure that they don't, uh, that they are protected, that they have a trusted friend that they do, as Claire referred to, uh, refer to the Smart Traveller website. Understand that there's consular assistance available. It does sound like that the Australian Olympic team are quite across the security and safety issues that they've well briefed that the Olympic team. That's very good news It's a shame that Australians don't feel that they can go out there and wear their uniform, but we want them to have a good Olympics. We want them to, you know, bring home those medals, enjoy the experience. Paris is not necessarily an unsafe place. We know, as Claire said, that, the French are doing all that they can to keep all participants in the Olympics as well as the spectators, safe as they can be. But everyone should be aware.

NATALIE BARR: Yep, it is a good reminder. Back home, artificial intelligence is now being used to create videos online to mock politicians with both sides of politics, putting it to use both Queensland Premier Stephen Miles and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton were the subject of a I created TikTok videos of them dancing. Clare, is this the new form of political attack?

CLARE O’NEIL: Look, I watched both videos Nat and I guess I mean I see this is a little bit like a political cartoon that's, you know, been designed for the modern age. I guess you know, I don't think it looks real and I think that's really important.

NATALIE BARR: Really?

CLARE O’NEIL: You know, we've got a big issue here. Well I don’t know if Peter Dutton’s got those moves. Jane may have some more insight.

JANE HUME: I have the moves.

CLARE O’NEIL: We all know that Jane, we know that. What I would say is that we’ve actually got a pretty serious issue here around AI generated deep fakes. That’s not what this is. This is political cartoonage basically. But the Government is really concerned about some of the AI generated deep fakes and it’s really important to make the distinction.We’re worried about imagery that is designed to distort reality from fiction. This for me, is mockery that in frank terms, Jane and I are pretty used too as politicians.

NATALIE BARR: Yeah well we’ll put the Steven Miles one back up because he wasn’t happy. And he's saying, you know, both sides of politics are warning people to, you know, stay away from deep fakes. And deepfakes are dangerous. Now you've got pollies doing this. Is it funny or do we just get used to it?

JANE HUME: I think political satire has been used, you know, for some time immemorial, hasn't it? Quite frankly, I think that makes Steven Miles look pretty good. I think he's sooking a bit, you know, if he's concerned that this is some sort of political tipping point that we're using, you know, AI to make him dance. Clare's right. There are some serious issues around AI. It's got lots of opportunities that it presents all of us, but it's also got a lot of risks. And the federal parliament is taking this quite seriously and working in a collaborative and bipartisan way to find legislation that will address that deep fake porn issue, which is, let's face it, the new frontier for gendered violence. That's a serious issue. Steven Miles is not a serious issue, quite frankly. We don't need political satire with Steven Miles. Every time he opens his mouth, he proves himself a clown.

NATALIE BARR: So we've got an election coming up. Can we-

CLARE O’NEIL: Oh Jane, that's a bit harsh.

NATALIE BARR: Can we expect more of politicians dancing like Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders? Is that what we're expecting going in, guys?

JANE HUME: Mate, if I could dance like a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader you wouldn't need to make it.

CLARE O’NEIL: I feel like Jane and I are made for this. We're made for this, aren't we, Jane?

NATALIE BARR: Okay. Oh, we've thrown down the gauntlet. Look out, ladies, see you next week. Thank you.