Staying with federal politics and the first sitting fortnight of the 48th Parliament has seen the coalition side with the federal government on several major pieces of legislation, including the HEX cuts and the childcare safety reform, while also trying to iron out internal friction regarding net zero. Joining me now is Paul Scarr, Deputy Manager of Opposition Business in the Senate and Shadow Minister for Immigration. Paul Scarr, welcome back to Radio National Breakfast.
Senator Scarr
Hello Sally, good to be with you.
Sally Sara
Firstly, the Home Affairs Minister’s meeting with the Director of the FBI, Kash Patel, the Greens have slammed that meeting and it not being initially publicised. What’s the coalition’s view?
Senator Scarr
Well, I can say I was quite surprised the way in which it was revealed to the public. You just had the Minister on and he talked about giving a response to a question from an ABC journalist. I query whether or not that’s the right approach in ensuring that these matters are made public to the extent they should be made public. And the Minister did comment on some of the discussions but query why it required a question from an ABC journalist to actually elicit that information.
Sally Sara
Do you think it should have been made public?
Senator Scarr
Well, if the Minister’s going to comment in relation to the content of the discussions, I’m not sure why you wouldn’t make that public in the first instance and be open and transparent about it. But I do acknowledge that there are other considerations you have to take into account in terms of these matters from a security perspective.
Sally Sara
We’ve had further comments overnight from the Prime Minister on the issue of possible recognition of Palestinian statehood. It’s been put forward as a case of not if, but when. Now that Canada has come forward and says that it will recognise Palestinian statehood, has that changed the Coalition’s view?
Senator Scarr
No, it hasn’t, Sally. And I think it’s really important when we consider these matters that to the extent that Australia does make a declaration, it really needs… the timing of that declaration is extraordinarily important. And the Coalition’s firm view, and this had been the bipartisan view for quite a long time, was a two-state solution needed to be negotiated to make sure it was sustainable into the long-term future. And the Minister did say that this is about trying to secure a lasting peace. And we say if you’re trying to secure a lasting peace, it needs to be a negotiated two-state solution, and Hamas cannot be in control of Gaza. It just simply cannot be in control of Gaza. The hostages need to be released. And all of us want to see an enduring solution to this issue. And I agree with the two-state solution, but it needs to be negotiated.
Sally Sara
The Coalition’s view is out of step now with our major allies, including the UK, Canada, and also France. Are you concerned that the Opposition’s position puts you on a different foot to those major allies?
Senator Scarr
I think the Opposition’s position is really consistent with what the position of both parties in Australia had been for a long, long time. And from my perspective, it makes absolute sense. If you’re going to have an enduring peace, if you’re going to have a sustainable solution, then it needs to be negotiated. And how can you have a solution with Hamas still in control of Gaza, with hostages still in captivity? And I note in the UK, some of the most moving arguments, warning against this unilateral response, were coming from a freed British-Israeli hostage who was querying whether or not the UK Prime Minister was going to be on the wrong side of history in terms of making a declaration. So I think this needs very, very careful consideration. We all want to see peace. We all want to see an enduring solution. We all want to see the suffering end. But I really do think that a negotiated, enduring solution is the pathway we should be looking for. And that means Hamas cannot be in control in Gaza. The hostages must be released. And we need to see a strong foundation for establishing a two-state solution. And that means it must be negotiated and Hamas cannot be in control.
Sally Sara
Is this the Opposition’s firm view on this matter? Or is the question of Palestinian statehood, is that also thrown into the process of reviewing all policy positions for the Coalition?
Senator Scarr
I think the Coalition has consistently made its position clear with respect to this matter. And many of us have spoken in the Parliament as to wanting to see a peace…
Sally Sara
Is this issue part of the policy review, which we understand to be across the board? Everything’s on the table?
Senator Scar
Well, I think, Sally, I think we’ve made our position quite clear in Parliament. I think the Leader’s made her position clear. So I don’t particularly see this as being part of the overall policy review process which is being undertaken. The position of the Coalition has been very clear on this. We agree with the two-state solution, but it needs to be negotiated. It needs to be enduring. Hamas cannot be in control of Gaza. Hostages need to be released. We do want to see we want to see peace. All Australians want to see peace, but we want an enduring solution.
Sally Sara
Looking at your shadow immigration portfolio, in the lead-up to the election, the former opposition leader Peter Dutton vowed to slash net overseas migration levels by 100,000. National Senator Bridget McKenzie later said that working holiday visas wouldn’t be cut. But given that many policies are now under review, is that option now back on the table?
Senator Scarr
We are reviewing our policies with respect to immigration and in undertaking that process, we recognised the complication in terms of our immigration policy. First, we need to start, in my view, every conversation in relation to immigration on the basis of the positive contribution immigration has made to Australia over decades and decades. Second, we need to recognise that this is a question of government policies. It is not a question of looking at the people who legitimately come to our country seeking a better life and make a wonderful contribution. So, in terms of determining the government settings, the government policy settings, we need to consider things like skill shortages. We need more carpenters. We need more cardiac surgeons. We need more people in our regions providing services and filling jobs. And at the same time, we need to consider the capacity of Australia in terms of housing constraints and infrastructure constraints.
So, that is quite a detailed mix of policy issues. There’s quite a large matrix of factors that need to be considered. And we’re going through that review process, consulting with all the stakeholders so that in the lead up to the next election, we come up with a well-considered policy that is based on the best evidence at the time. And in considering that, Sally, it’s important to note that the policy we take will be going into the 2028 election. So, looking at figures that were put forward during the last election for 2025, 26, 27, we need to be looking forward beyond that and indeed long-term into the future.
Sally Sara
Paul Scarr, thank you for your time this morning.
Senator Scarr
Thanks very much, Sally.
Sally Sara
Paul Scarr is Deputy Manager of Opposition Business in the Senate and Shadow Minister for Immigration, speaking to me there.
