Colleen Harkin on The Rita Panahi Show Sky News Australia – 14 October 2025

In this interview, Colleen Harkin appeared on The Rita Panahi Show – Sky News Australia to discuss the IPA’s research on criminal justice.

All media appearances posted onto the IPA website are directly related to the promotion and dissemination of IPA research.

Below is a transcript of the interview.

Rita Panahi:

Joining me now for more on this is News Corp’s Senior Writer, Patrick Carlyon, and Institute of Public Affairs Research Fellow, Colleen Harkin. Patrick, this is a momentous week for the Middle East, for the world. We are closer to lasting peace in that region than we have been for many, many years.

Patrick Carlyon:

Well, Donald Trump is the king of the world, isn’t he? He came, he saw, he closed the deal that no one else could close. And he cut through all the distractions. And I think this is interesting in an Australian context. He worked out, it was a very simple truth. As long as the hostages were in Gaza, the war would continue. As soon as they were home, the war would stop. And you’ve got to give him credit. I mean, he’s very unique. He’s bombastic. He’s got all these strange ways of giving speeches and all the rest, but he actually nailed it in a way. And this is the most monumental foreign affairs moment for a US president for decades, if not generations.

Rita Panahi:

Colleen, he certainly has a different way about him. He’s not your typical politician, not your typical diplomat, but he gets the job done. What did you make of Penny Wong’s commentary that Australia played a role in this. If anything, from what Marco Rubio has said, Australia’s interventions set back the peace process because every time the Palestinian state was recognised before the hostages were released, the Palestinians were less likely to actually make a deal.

Colleen Harkin:

Sure. And Hamas thanked them for the statements that they made. I have to admit, I laughed out loud when I read that. Look, this is history repeating itself. Trump delivered on the Abraham Accord, and he’s done it again by showing courage and conviction. A lot of people said it couldn’t be done, and we need to stand back and applaud everything that he has achieved in this moment. I mean, there’s still a lot of work to be done, and the courage and the backbone that he has shown is to be absolutely, we need to be absolutely grateful for that from a worldwide perspective. And Australia really should show some of the backbone that he has shown how it’s done, because we have in our own community tolerated a high level of intolerance. And to your point, the Penny Wong and Albanese claiming some kind of credit for this, it’s just a joke. It’s ridiculous.

Rita Panahi:

It is ridiculous. And you would think they would just be quiet for a while just to be quiet and let the big boys play.

Now, let’s turn our attention to the ABC. Our biassed and bloated public broadcaster wastes more than a billion dollars of taxpayers’ money every year. Well, last night, while Donald Trump was addressing the Israeli parliament, they were airing a Four Corners hit piece on his business dealings. Colleen, this is just extraordinary. Trump was a billionaire before he entered politics. He, from what I can recall, lost money during his first term. He didn’t enrich himself. He’s clearly not in this for money, whatever you think of him. Unlike many other politicians, including Biden, who went into politics with nothing, became very rich in the process. Some of it through some dodgy business dealings of his family members. I can’t recall the ABC reports into that. I don’t remember the Four Corners investigation into Biden’s dealings with China or Ukraine, or anywhere else.

Colleen Harkin:

Yeah, look, it’s just another example of the warped priorities that the ABC often manifests. They’ve done nothing in between times, like all the stuff with Hunter Biden’s computer, where was that expose? They’ve just sort of shut all that kind of conversation down. My understanding is that Trump actually gives away his remuneration as being President to charity. He’s not in it for the money. He’s shown enormous amount of intestinal fortitude to do what he doing.

Rita Panahi:

They’ve tried to bankrupt his entire estate. By becoming involved in politics, he was not only personally attacked, Patrick, but the lawfare came after his empire, and they did try to bankrupt him. They tried to stop him from running through those methods. So for the ABC… And the ABC, have they ever apologised for that three-part series they did on the Russian collusion hoax? They ever acknowledge that was entirely debunked?

Patrick Carlyon:

Look, the problem with this is the timing. We knew yesterday that the hostages were going to be released late on Monday. Why would you run a hit piece at the same time? Trump is the king of the world. Even Penny Wong is singing Trump’s praises. Why wouldn’t you hold that piece back? I disagree a little bit. I think it’s a legitimate thing to be looking at, certainly as it is with any president. But to run it out on Monday night at the same time as hostages are being released, and Donald Trump is the king of the world, is insane.

Rita Panahi:

Now, guys, before you go, we need some light relief. Let’s see your reaction to this comedic masterpiece from Mike Goldman. Here is his take on Melbourne’s youth crime crisis.

Mike Goldman:

10:00 AM in Australia’s sporting capital, Melbourne, and everyone’s getting into the latest sports craze, shopping centre macheteing, brought to you by Westfield, where we chop more than the prices. Today, regional champion Zumba McSlicy from Frankston is competing against Bullby Big Knife from St. Kilda. Prize? A bag of watches from Michael Hill Jeweller. Wow, great slice from McSlicy. Let’s see that again on his iPhone. Action replay. Oh, here come the popo. As you can see on the skincare cam brought to you by Chemist Warehouse.

Rita Panahi:

Of course, that was a recent incident just in last few days at Broadmeadow Shopping Centre. These incidents are way too common, Patrick. We’re laughing here, but it is no laughing matter because people are left traumatised. There was a poor woman who fainted just witnessing that violence. And we’ve had father and son attacks just near where we are recording right now. Four out of those five alleged assailants out on bail within hours.

Patrick Carlyon:

Yeah, that’s right. We had a bloke chase, run down an assailant in his home at 3:00 AM in Hawthorne, I think, and he was wearing his undies. I mean, this is happening all the time. Jacinta Allen tried to say earlier today that you should feel safe in the CBD. We don’t feel safe in shopping centres. We don’t feel safe in our homes. I was watching President Trump last night talking, and I realised I’d left the door open. I was like, are kids going to come in with machetes? That’s the reality in Melbourne at the moment.

Rita Panahi:

Well, it’s just become far too common. Car jackings, home invasions, violent crime on the streets in shopping centres, Colleen. Melbourne’s got this reputation, and sadly, I think it’s well deserved at this point.

Colleen Harkin:

Well, Jacinta Allen’s comment that we should feel safe in our homes, of course it’s correct. We should, but we don’t. And that’s the problem, is that the crime rate is out of control. I’ve unfortunately joined the thousands of people who’ve had their car stolen out of the driveway. It is commonplace. And that sort of comedic scenario, if you didn’t laugh, you’d cry. But I think a lot of Victorians are actually crying. They’re not laughing.

Rita Panahi:

No. Colleen Harkin. Patrick Carlyon, thank you so much for your time tonight.

This transcript with Colleen Harkin talking on The Rita Panahi Show – Sky News Australia 14 October 2025 has been edited for clarity.