Panel with Sarah Abo and Anna Caldwell, The Today Show
23 March 2023
SARAH ABO: Three young Queensland girls have been charged after a 13 year old was allegedly lured into a Sunshine Coast home where police say she was tortured for several hours. Joining us to discuss this Liberal Senator Jane Hume in Canberra and the editor of Sunday Mail and Saturday Courier Mail Anna Caldwell in Brisbane. Good morning to you both now Jane, this is absolutely horrific. The three girls charged over this crime are only aged 12, 13 and 14. It's just so hard to comprehend.
JANE HUME: The reports that we're hearing about this story Sarah are so shocking and so sickening and if you're a mother like me, of course the thought of your own daughter being involved in an incident like this, is just terrifying. I was up in Queensland just last weekend. There is a problem with youth crime up there and it is something that I think that the state government needs to turn its mind to.
SARAH ABO: Anna, how are the people of Queensland reacting to this and as Jane pointed out, youth crime is on the rise not just in Queensland, really across the country and then when you mix that with what we're seeing out of schools these days, it doesn't paint a pretty picture.
ANNA CALDWELL: Yeah, that's right, Sarah. I mean, it is a harrowing story. But I want to talk more broadly about the issues here as you say. I think it's actually almost ironic that this terrible incident has been shared on TikTok because I think these platforms have a lot to answer for. We are seeing as you say, this incredible rise in youth crime right around the country. We're also seeing all types of bullying and we're seeing it shared on platforms like TikTok. You know, these kids are at an age where they should be sitting down to hot chicken dinners with their parents at night, but often they're holed up in their bedrooms scrolling through these algorithms that just keep feeding them horrific content and they become really desensitised to it. I think the platform's have a huge role to play and I also think the pressure should be on them from the federal government to make sure they take content down.
SARAH ABO: Yeah, no, I absolutely agree with that. There is so much after that we need to do, it's complex. It's not an easy fix. Let's move on now to Canberra, Jane the Prime Minister is set to secure a crucial deal on the wording of the voice referendum taking him one step closer to bringing constitutional change. Now after weeks of debate, the Coalition has finally decided to play ball Jane. What changed?
JANE HUME: Well, we'll hear about the details of the actual voice question today I hope, but last night we did secure many concessions from the government around the rules around the referendum. So there will now definitely be a pamphlet that goes out to each household that outlines the yes and the no case. We've ensured that there is going to be fair treatment of yes and no organisations and we've also made sure that there will be no putting your thumb on the scales by the government when it launches its civics and education program, that it must be a neutral program and if it isn't neutral, there'll be legal ramifications.
SARAH ABO: It’s not often we see the opposition though and the Labor Party meeting halfway on something like this, they're normally partnering with the Greens instead of you guys?
JANE HUME: It's really important, I think, with electoral reform, which is essentially what this is, that the two parties of government work well together. We've never wanted to stand in the way of a referendum going ahead. Australians deserve to have their say. We just wanted to make sure that it was a fair and free referendum with both sides equally balanced.
SARAH ABO: Have you rolled over a bit?
JANE HUME: No. In fact, I feel that the government has really made some significant concessions here. We want now to make sure that the referendum process has some integrity. Our concern, of course, is that there's still opportunities, without a yes and a no official campaign for foreign interference, for foreign donations and for breaches of donation caps. With all of these community groups being all being involved in a referendum which is terrific, I'm not entirely sure that they're aware of the rules that apply to them, they could so easily breach them, there's still a lot of work for the government to do to make sure that these organisations know what to do and to keep information safe.
SARAH ABO: Let's jump out of the Canberra bubble a little bit. Anna, how do you think this plays out with the everyday citizens of Australia?
ANNA CALDWELL: Yeah, that's right. I mean, I'm glad that these questions are being settled because we need to get to a place where we're having this conversation right around the country. This is an important issue for our nation this year and I think for too long, we've been in a place where it's politicians talking to each other about how this is going to play out when really the conversation needs to be with the people of Australia. I don't think that we're in a place yet where people are really turning their mind to it. I think they're more worried about other things in their day to day life, inflation, paying their mortgage rates, all of that stuff. You know, we've got a big year ahead of us in this debate and I think the sooner we can lock down you know this question, get the politics out of the way and start having a conversation, the better.
SARAH ABO: And just finally, a topic that's close to my heart. Now, I've just moved from Melbourne to Sydney. Yeah, I know. I can't believe it either. And this debate was revived on radio yesterday. Melbourne and Sydney are like sisters, but Sydney is the prettier sister, whereas Melbourne has to work on her personality, and the result is better bars, better restaurants, better coffees. Jane as a fellow Melbourne sister, you got to agree with that. Right?
JANE HUME: I feel like Melbourne is the sister with a terrific personality. I'd like to think more that Sydney is the blonde and Melbourne's the brunette, the more intellectually interesting type.
SARAH ABO: I agree and Anna you've just moved out of Sydney, what do you reckon?
ANNA CALDWELL: I have. I'll always fight for Sydney, but as a Queenslander, I think I'll put in a bid for Brisbane as the sporty sister. We've got the Olympics, the best footy teams, everybody loves a sporty sister.
SARAH ABO: It's like the Spice Girls isn’t it? Sporty Spice, Posh Spice and Ginger Spice and I reckon Melbourne is the sporting capital too, sorry Anna. I'm not gonna give you that one. Thanks so much for your time.