Colleen Harkin on The Rita Panahi Show Sky News Australia – 25 September 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.

Danica De Giorgio:

Joining me now for more on this is Sky News contributor Louise Roberts, and research fellow at the Institute of Public Affairs, Colleen Harkin. Good to see you both. Thanks so much for joining me on the show. Look, Louise, I’ve got to say it’s all very strange. I mean, between Albo’s over-exaggerated smile with Donald Trump to run now besties with Gavin Newsom, what do you make of all this?

Louise Roberts:

Well, I think the PM is walking a real diplomatic tightrope here, because clearly he doesn’t want to upset Trump any more than all those previous insults. And because Canberra needs Trump onside for AUKUS and trade and everything else like that. And the fact that he was so coy about that meeting or after that photo was taken, the selfie where he does look very like an excitable schoolboy meeting his celebrity hero, and Trump’s got this very strange forced grin. I would love to know what was going on in his mind when that picture was taken.

So I think having Kevin Rudd hugging Gavin Newsom, who is the number one Democrat that Trump despises even more than Kamala Harris and Biden. So what he’s actually saying and trying to do is also what his team is doing. And that looks like they’re on the periphery, sort of trying to wind up Trump even perhaps not deliberately, but it would be irritating to him, I think. And I think that’s something that the PM has to be very careful of ahead of this meeting on October 20, which of course, if Trump feels like it, may cancel at the last minute.

Danica De Giorgio:

Absolutely. Well, I mean, he’s already pushed the alliance further away. He’s prioritising China, of course. Kevin Rudd is actually still the elephant in the room, Colleen. And look, to me, looking at that selfie between Albanese and Trump, I just felt like the PM’s desperately trying to portray this image like everything’s okay. Yes, we haven’t gotten a meeting up until now, but everything is fine. But the reality is he’s actually been snubbed twice by the president.

Colleen Harkin:

Well, that’s right. That photo with Trump is obviously… It looks very strained to me. But the other interesting component is his big hug with Newsom. I mean, Newsom is Trump’s nemesis. And to publicly have such a close relationship and it doesn’t look to me like Kevin Rudd has actually done his job in looking after Australia’s interest in developing a better relationship with Trump. We seem to be in this sort of scenario where it’s an ideological relationship rather than actually looking after Australia’s best interest in terms of our security with our closest ally.

Danica De Giorgio:

Look, I agree. I think they have trashed the alliance from the very beginning. They’re now desperately trying to play catch-up, but there’s a lot of issues at stake. And I just think Anthony Albanese has been a fair dinkum embarrassment on the world stage. Speaking of, he’s actually given his first speech to the United Nations General Assembly, spruiking his climate credentials and pushing for Australia, who just supported Palestinian recognition, to be added to the UN Security Council. Here’s a bit of what he said.

Anthony Albanese:

This week, Australia recognised the State of Palestine because, to quote from the charter, “That forms the very foundations of this institution and reflects the very best of its idealism.” We are determined, quote, “To save succeeding generations from the scourge of war to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights.”

Danica De Giorgio:

Louise, how does he think he’s going to be able to solve this Middle Eastern crisis by recognising Palestine? It’s symbolic likely to be vetoed, but the point is there’s still hostages. There are still hostages somewhere probably underneath the tunnels of Gaza. And this man’s on the world stage betraying our values.

Louise Roberts:

That’s right. And that should always be the first comment he makes is about the hostages and having them released. But I still believe that the Prime Minister thinks this is some kind of circuit breaker by saying, we recognise Palestine, it’s the one thing that’s going to fix situation, which has so far not been restored, or the hostages aren’t released and there’s no peace, et cetera, et cetera. And also begging for clout for a seat of the UN is, I think in his mind, this sort of shores up support for Palestine as well. But clearly, Hamas are terrorists. You can’t negotiate with terrorists. And they’re not… They’re laughing at him thinking, “Yeah, sure, we’ll lay down our arms as part of this condition of recognising Palestine.” That’s never going to happen.

Danica De Giorgio:

No, it’s not going to happen. And when he first announced it, obviously earlier this week, Hamas actually came out and praised him. So well done, Albo.

Louise Roberts:

Kiss of death that was.

Danica De Giorgio:

Yeah, absolute kiss of death. And look, Colleen, he’s also spooked Australia’s climate change agenda. Have a listen to this.

Anthony Albanese:

Our target is ambitious, but importantly it is achievable. And more than anything else, Australia’s embrace of clean, renewable energy will get us there.

Danica De Giorgio:

Colleen, he’s presented an uncosted 2035 emissions reduction target. He still can’t say what it will do for our power bills, yet they’ve gone up under this renewables energy magic carpet ride. How can he stand on the world stage now and profess our credentials? What credentials does he have?

Colleen Harkin:

Yeah. Well, it seems to me that Albanese is much more interested in getting a pat on the back from the United Nations bureaucrats than he is about worrying about our own national interests, our security, our energy security, our food security, everything that goes with this 2035 target that is undermining everything about Australia, our standard of living, our cost of living. He just doesn’t seem to be focused on what’s going on at home. And there seems to be a complete disconnect between his ideological vanity project and the reality of what happens to the average Australian.

Danica De Giorgio:

Yeah, absolutely. He’s so oblivious to it. Now, look, let’s talk about liberal front bencher, Andrew Hastie. He’s demanded the party adopt a policy to crack down on immigration saying many young Aussies have lost hope of owning a home due to an explosion in net overseas migration. Louise, look, I don’t think he’s wrong. Mass migration is an issue. In my view, I actually think it’s a real vote critical issue. But why are both sides of politics so scared to even have this conversation

Louise Roberts:

And scared being the operative word? Because as soon as they raise it as a debate issue or a talking point, they’re howled down by the left who say you’re being xenophobic and racist, and you’re blaming migrants for crime, which is clearly never the case, particularly when certain individuals raise it as a topic. And I think Andrew Hastie really is positioning himself as a straight talking populist here, who is saying what a lot of Australians are thinking. We’re worried about mass migration and we’re worried about the impact on our lives. And it was a great quote where he talked about us being strangers in our own homes, that we don’t feel safe and we don’t feel as much of a future for our children. And he’s very brave to say those things. And I do feel he’s really taking on Susan Lay’s position by making that stand, and he’s making himself very attractive. The manufacturing’s another issue, of course, he talked about.

Danica De Giorgio:

Yeah. No, no, he is. He’s got a lot of leadership qualities, I would say. And you alluded to this, and Colleen, this isn’t the only issue he’s spoken about in recent days. So immigration, Australia first, he’s talk about manufacturing net zero. Some of his moderate colleagues have been backgrounding him telling journalists he needs to calm down. I mean, I think he’s one of the only liberals right now with a backbone and spine. What do you make of his intervention?

Colleen Harkin:

Well, I mean, it doesn’t take a university degree in social science to know that unplanned mass immigration has negative consequences on the population. Australia has an immigrant culture. We all know that and we love that about ourselves. But that doesn’t mean that it is anybody, all the time, in any numbers. And I think the average Australian is looking at what’s happening to us, and they are very concerned about what’s happening to our social fabric, our Australian way of life. And we all want that protected. And I think Andrew Hastie is right to call this out. The Liberal Party in itself, I think is tearing itself up about what does it stand for anymore? Who is its base? Who does it appeal to? But the average person on the street is very concerned about what is happening to our country. We saw those protests or marches, I should call them on the streets recently, where people just want to live in a cohesive, free society where we enjoy the unique things that Australia offers us. And I think Andrew Hastie is right to call it out.

Danica De Giorgio:

I agree. I mean, the marches for Australia were everyday Aussies, everyday mums and dads who are worried about what is happening in this country. And yet, a lot of politicians on both sides to be said, said it was a racist march. Well, the majority there were there for the right reasons. So it is a vote driving issue now.

Look, Victoria’s premier, Jacinta Allan’s machete ban and amnesty is once again proving to be an absolute failure. Terrifying footage has emerged of two groups of males slashing each other with machetes in the car park of Broadmeadows Central Shopping Centre in Melbourne’s north. And a warning, some viewers may find this distressing.

Channel Seven Reporter:

Back here in Melbourne, just four weeks after the ban came into effect, 7NEWS has obtained this exclusive vision, which shows two groups of men armed with machetes trying to stab one another in the car park at Broadmeadows Central around five o’clock yesterday. One person was hurt and taken to hospital, but no arrests have been made.

Danica De Giorgio:

But Louise, this is terrifying. How can Jacinta Allan honestly say that she’s being tough on crime when week in, week out, machete incidents are happening all the time?

Louise Roberts:

hat’s right. And the other thing about that Broadmeadows incident is there was a machete bin opposite that shopping centre.

Danica De Giorgio:

The irony.

Louise Roberts:

The irony of it. Exactly. And she cannot say that crime’s under control. I mean, the stats just came out today, which I’ll note here, that incidents are up 18%, offences are up 16%. And they’re saying now that children and young people make up almost half of aggravated burglaries and more than a quarter of car thefts. They’re the highest figures ever since they’ve started being recorded in Victoria. So Jacinta Allan has got nothing to crow about on the crime front.

Danica De Giorgio:

I mean, that’s frightening. They’re absolutely frightening. Colleen, this is happening in the state that you live in. What does it say about Jacinta Allan’s machete ban and her policies?

Colleen Harkin:

Yeah, correct. As you know, I’m in Victoria, and the crime here is literally out of control. People are genuinely very worried. The machete bins, the idea that people will just drop them in at the end of the street is ridiculous. And to be honest, it wouldn’t even matter whether it was a machete. The tool that’s being used for the violence that’s being inflicted is irrelevant. It’s what’s happening with the standard of… The policing, they’re overwhelmed with what’s going on here. Car theft is out of control, household break-ins is out of control. We are really in dire straits in Victoria, and people are genuinely afraid. They’re really genuinely afraid. And people are staying away from shopping centres and places where others might gather.

There is nothing to crow about what’s happening in Victoria. The bail laws that were changed recently, and they’re now saying that we’re not going to have enough room in our jails for the people who were violent offenders. There just doesn’t seem to be a genuine plan for how to crack down on this.

Danica De Giorgio:

No, clearly. There is none and it’s not working. And I just feel for residents who are absolutely terrified by this. Now look, I want to end on a light note. Italy has sent a Navy frigate to assist Greta Thunberg’s pro-Palestine flotilla after their fleet was attacked by drones overnight, would you believe? The activists reported about 13 explosions and claimed that the drones infiltrated the ship’s communication system by playing ABBA music on all of them at full volume. I had to laugh when I read that, Louise. I mean, it’s quite funny.

Louise Roberts:

I wonder if it was Waterloo.

Danica De Giorgio:

Maybe it was.

Louise Roberts:

Maybe it was. Just like Napoleon, Greta’s now facing her Waterloo. I mean, who knows? But it could have been Dancing Queen, it could have been anything. But those Italian taxpayers will be thrilled a bits to know that their money’s being used to stop these sort of babyface activists who were warned not to go anywhere near this area.

Danica De Giorgio:

Exactly. I mean, there’s been so many issues from the start with this frigate Colleen, and now ABBA is playing at full blast, apparently.

Colleen Harkin:

Well, I happen to like ABBA. But I mean, this is a PR flotilla that’s actually helping Hamas. I mean, that’s the reality of this. Actually, there’s a side of me that feels a bit sorry for Greta Thunberg because she’s kind of been used as a prop for most of her, and certainly from her teenage years on. First of all, it was radical climate change issues, and now this. I think it’s kind of time we just ignored her, to be honest. I mean, she’s… I don’t know that she really knows what she’s doing and the consequences of some of these actions, and I think it’s just time that we stopped giving her oxygen.

Danica De Giorgio:

Now look, fair enough, she is an annoying gremlin after all. Colleen Harkin, Louise Roberts, good to have you both on. Thank you so much for joining me on the show this evening.

This transcript with Colleen Harkin on The Rita Panahi Show Sky News Australia 25 September 2025 has been edited for clarity.