Joining me live from Brisbane is Liberal Senator Paul Scarr. Paul Scarr, thank you for your time. Let me start with the Donald Trump proposal to levy a tax on the Strait of Hormuz. We now have a bipartisan position in Australia opposing this. What do you make of it? Do you think it’s just one of those threats he throws out there that might not come to fruition?
Paul Scarr: Look, it could well be, Andrew. Obviously, there’s a lot of frustration there because he thought he had the agreement of the Iranian regime, and now they’ve walked back from that. So there’s clearly frustration in that regard.
But we can’t have tolls being imposed upon straits like the Strait of Hormuz, or anywhere else, including in our own region. We need to maintain freedom of navigation, especially for Australia. We’re a trading nation, so we need those sea routes to remain open.
Andrew Clennell: None of what’s happened over the past few days says good things about what will occur with the war and petrol prices going forward, does it?
Paul Scarr: No, it doesn’t, Andrew. As we all know, a lot of Australians are doing it really tough at the moment. When we look at the pressure on oil prices, once again overnight they’ve jumped, and that flows through to everything — people doing their grocery shopping, driving their kids to school, and running their businesses.
A decision was made that the fuel excise cut would be halved and continued only on a 50 per cent basis. So we can expect an impact on inflation, and that’s bad news.
Andrew Clennell: Angus Taylor has made some interesting comments about tackling One Nation this morning. He says he criticises them with a heavy heart. What do you make of that? Do you have a heavy heart when you criticise One Nation’s policies?
Paul Scarr: I think it’s an obligation to hold One Nation to account for its policies, and Angus has been absolutely correct to do that. He’s called out the fact that so many of their policies are uncosted, that many of them would lead to greater government intervention, which is contrary to Liberal Party values, and that many would be against the best interests of Australians.
I think Angus is discharging an important obligation because that’s what democracy is all about. Political parties need to be accountable for their policies.
Andrew Clennell: Is Angus Taylor so concerned he might offend One Nation sympathisers that he can’t criticise them?
Paul Scarr: Well, he has been criticising their policies, Andrew.
I suspect the “heavy heart” comment reflects the fact that he’d prefer to keep the focus on the Labor Government — on Labor’s budget and policies, which are having a negative impact on Australians. At the same time, he has a responsibility to hold One Nation to account, and I think that’s what he was trying to communicate.
Andrew Clennell: One Nation Senator Malcolm Roberts has landed himself in controversy again by praising conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. What do you make of that?
Paul Scarr: It’s beyond the pale.
Why Malcolm Roberts decided to go on Alex Jones’s program after what Alex Jones said about the Sandy Hook school massacre in the United States — and after what the victims of that massacre, people who lost children and family members, have said about him — simply baffles me.
He shouldn’t have gone anywhere near that individual.
Andrew Clennell: How fearful are you of One Nation wiping out LNP seats, and what’s the secret to taking them on, particularly in Queensland?
Paul Scarr: I think the lesson we’ve learned in Queensland — and you’ve seen some of this in South Australia as well — is that the rise of One Nation typically leads to Labor governments being elected.
We saw that in Queensland with the Borbidge–Sheldon Government in 1998, due in part to the rise of One Nation and the way preferences flowed. We’ve also seen a Labor government returned with a large majority in South Australia.
So we need to communicate to voters that there is a real risk that supporting One Nation ultimately helps Labor. That’s what history has shown in Queensland.
We’re a united team behind Angus Taylor and Matt Canavan. We’re rolling out policies such as the Tax Back Guarantee and the indexation of income tax thresholds. We’ve also done a strong job holding the Government to account over its budget.
I met a real estate agent today who said agencies are laying off workers because confidence has been lost in the property market. That’s exactly why we need to keep holding the Labor Government to account.
Andrew Clennell: What do you think of Pauline Hanson’s comments about “monoculture”?
Paul Scarr: I think it’s ridiculous, Andrew.
We’re a multicultural country. I’d only ever heard the term “monoculture” used in the context of agriculture. Australia is a multicultural society.
What was even more bizarre was Pauline Hanson pointing to the Socceroos as an example of monoculture. The Socceroos include players born in Australia, players who migrated here from around the world, and players who were born in refugee camps and later settled in Australia.
They come together to represent our country. Millions of Australians have watched the Socceroos on SBS, yet Pauline Hanson wants to abolish SBS.
I think it’s divisive, it’s extreme, and it doesn’t reflect modern Australia.
Andrew Clennell: How disappointed were you to be dropped from the shadow ministry, given you held an important immigration portfolio?
Paul Scarr: You have disappointments in politics, Andrew, but you’ve got to look ahead.
One consequence of that decision is that I’ve returned to Senate committee work, and those committees do incredibly important work. I’ve been involved in inquiries looking at KPMG and also regional and rural affairs, including issues such as aircraft noise affecting my constituents here in Brisbane.
You throw yourself into whatever task you’ve been given, and that’s what I try to do. You remain positive and you remain a team player.
That’s politics. You sign up for a political role knowing there will be ups and downs, and that’s just the way it is.
Andrew Clennell: You did a lot of work in the immigration space. How much work does the Government still need to do on migration? What do you make of its net migration target?
Paul Scarr: There are major issues in this portfolio.
The first point is there is no medium or long-term planning. The Government talks about net overseas migration targets, but really they’re forecasts. There’s no integrated document looking at Australia’s future needs and bringing together population policy, infrastructure, skills shortages and housing supply.
There’s still a significant gap in how the Labor Government is approaching these issues.
When you break it down further, there are more than 50,000 international students in Australia appealing visa outcomes and remaining in the country while they go through the Administrative Review Tribunal process.
There are also more than 110,000 people who have claimed asylum or refugee status and are still going through appeal processes.
There are major issues within the immigration portfolio that need to be addressed.
Andrew Clennell: Finally, the Prime Minister is planning a major announcement on artificial intelligence tomorrow. What are you expecting, and what should the Government be doing on AI?
Paul Scarr: This is a major challenge, and AI is moving incredibly quickly.
My colleague Senator James Paterson has made important remarks regarding AI and national security. In terms of Australia’s sovereign capability, we need strong AI capability within the country.
At the same time, we need appropriate safeguards to address issues such as fraud, scams, privacy breaches and disinformation. We need to be alert to those risks.
But our economy also needs to adapt. We can’t simply refuse to accept that AI is here. It has already arrived in many respects, and it will continue to affect the way we work.
One of my concerns is that when the Prime Minister makes his statement tomorrow, he may move Australia towards excessive regulation and give unions too much influence over decisions about when AI can and cannot be used.
I think that would be a grave mistake.
Andrew Clennell: Paul Scarr, thanks so much for your time.
Paul Scarr: Thanks, Andrew.
