Colleen Harkin on The Rita Panahi Show Sky News Australia – 4 March 2026

Danica De Giorgio:

Good evening and welcome to The Rita Panahi Show. I’m Danica De Giorgio. Coming up tonight: A new report finds social cohesion has crumbled under the Albanese government. Are we surprised? I’ll get into that with my panel. Iran’s regime elects a new leader as the IDF launches a wave of strikes across Iran. Peter Jennings will break down the latest developments. The US and UK have fallen out spectacularly over Iran, after Donald Trump absolutely demolished Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Josh Hammer is coming up. Another day, another blow for Australia’s renewables only experiment, with another green company cutting part of its workforce. Ian Plimer will weigh in. And of course, lefties losing it. Imagine the left’s reaction to this banger.

Donald Trump:

Ayatollah Khamenei is dead.

Danica De Giorgio:

But first tonight, the ISIS bride saga has taken another turn. There are reports that New South Wales prison guards are being trained to watch over the ISIS brides via a specialised course called Women in Violent Extremism. According to sources who have spoken to the Australian, training teachers guards how to work with category five prisoners. That is female inmates who are deemed a special risk to national security, such as those involved in or inciting terrorism-related activities. One nation leader, Senator Pauline Hanson, says New South Wales prison guards have contacted her out of concern for public safety and their own welfare. For more on this, let’s bring in News Corp Senior Writer, Patrick Carlyon and Institute of Public Affairs Research Fellow, Colleen Harkin. Good to see you both again. Thanks for joining me.

Patrick, so now these brides become possibly the issue of prison bosses who then have to babysit them. I just think this saga gets worse and worse. What do you make of the developments?

Patrick Carlyon:

Well, look, this latest news suggests that they’re definitely coming back, doesn’t it? Now, I think Pauline Hanson got it right. Some people might call Pauline divisive, but I think 100% of Australians think that these people should not be allowed to come back. And there’s been a very shadowy sort of process. They’re allowed to renew their passports. They started coming back. It’s unclear really how much government involvement has been put into bringing them back. And the point is none of us want them back. They’re dangerous. And the fact that they’re going to be looked after in prisons, who’s paying for that? I mean, I think we are all very united on this issue.

Danica De Giorgio:

Look, that’s a good point. Who’s going to pay for it? Exactly. And Colleen, I just think that this goes to show no government department seems to know how to handle these brides. And yet by all accounts, they’re likely to come back. But the problem here, and it stems from the heart of this issue, is that they should not even be allowed back here in the first place.

Colleen Harkin:

Well, that’s right. I mean, these people left knowing full well where they were going. It was actually illegal at the time for them to leave. They’ve gone to assist an ISIS Islamic regime scenario. Nobody wants them back. Our government is hellbent on shutting down free speech, if you have an opinion that’s going to be criminalised. And yet, we’re helping these people come back into a place where it is endangering national security. UK, for example, has been able to handle this by stripping ISIS brides of their citizenship. I don’t understand why Australia is not taking those measures as well. They’ve been able to do it under the basis that they have parental heritage of other countries and/or about national security. Our government’s not even looking at these things.

Danica De Giorgio:

No. I mean, of course, because Albo’s got a panda to his base. He’s doing it all for votes as he has been for the last two years. Now, speaking of, we knew this and our research has confirmed that social cohesion is crumbling under the Albanese government. Who would’ve thought? A report by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute says, “Australia is at a point of national reckoning after more than two years of increasingly radical protests, some of which, of course, have featured the flags of terror groups.” There’s been chance of where are the Jews, from the river to the sea, globalising intofadatu, and more recently tributes to the dead Iranian dictator, Ayatollah Khamenei. Patrick, what do you make of the report?

Patrick Carlyon:

Look, I think the report nails it, Danica. This has been ongoing since October 2023. And the problem is that these extreme symbols have been allowed to flourish here in Australia. They haven’t been condemned as they should’ve been. And I think the report makes a very good point in saying there should be joint statements from the major parties to condemn actual incidents of extremism. To make the point, this is not our Australia. This is not who we are. We will not tolerate this. So, I think the report is very timely and very welcome.

Danica De Giorgio:

I couldn’t agree more. And Colleen, what on earth has Labour done to try and unite the country in these two and a half years since October 7th?

Colleen Harkin:

Well, it’s not only just about immigration or mass immigration. Freedom comes with responsibility, and cohesion comes from an agreed adherence, and loyalty to our rule of law, our democracy, and our values. And that hasn’t been what’s been promoted for quite some time, not just in the last couple of years. If we look at, for example, the Bondi scenario, the alleged government was born here and went through our education system. And part of our education system is actually teaching kids to be ashamed of our country and they’re deliberately undermining our social cohesion.

They’re teaching the kids to be a global citizen, not a nationally proud citizen of Australia. We have third party providers who give content to schools that teach the kids to sit for the national anthem. We have teachers in schools wearing kafias. It’s not just at this sort of adult level that the lack of social cohesion is an issue. It’s in our schools as well.

Danica De Giorgio:

Yeah. And it’s sad that the next generation have basically been brainwashed into this sort of ideology. I think it’s really, really concerning. Now, look, the war in Iran has happened at just the right time for the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, who’s been under increased scrutiny in recent weeks amid surging inflation and worsening living standards. Economist Judith Sloan has warned in The Australian Today to get ready for Jim’s flood of global uncertainty excuses, writing that we will be asked to forget about the economic difficulties that had been apparent and concentrate on the economic consequences of global developments in the Middle East. Well, Patrick, we know he loves to blame. The Ukraine war has been at top of his list for years, then global headwinds. And what do you think? Iran’s just perfect now, really.

Patrick Carlyon:

I think we’re still blaming COVID down here in Victoria for a $200 billion debt. Judith is quite right. And I mean, there are these underlying issues, as you pointed out, the high inflation, the statement of living standards, the budget deficits that were being forecast. This is all preexisting what’s happened in Iran in the past few days, but I’m sure as the weeks go by, this continues, it will be because of Iran. Iran will be blamed for every economic problem that we have. And there is history on this, going back on both sides of the political fence.

Danica De Giorgio:

Yeah, absolutely. And then by the time that the budget gets handed down, Colleen, they’ll make and break their promises and say, “Oh, well, we had to change course because Iran happened.” It’s all too predictable.

Colleen Harkin:

I think Dr. Chalmers can’t believe his luck, but I’d like to think that the Australian people are not that stupid. We have felt for a couple of years the pressure on the cost of living. We’ve felt the consequences of the overspend of government and the inflation. We’ve sat here feeling it and experiencing it. So, I don’t think anybody’s really going to cop it that just in the last couple of days has made all the difference. Our woes don’t belong in the Middle East. Our woes actually have started and begun in Canberra.

Danica De Giorgio:

Yeah. They absolutely have from the top down for sure. Let’s talk about what’s going on in both your state right now. Victorian Premier, Jacinta Allan’s in a world of pain. A new poll by Freshwater Strategy has found that 74% of voters want the state labour government to be properly investigated, potentially through a Royal Commission, regarding criminal infiltration and the corruption of the CFMEU in Victoria. According to that poll, 53% of voters also say the allegations and Labor’s weak response would influence their vote come the election in November. Patrick, the fact that Premier keeps fobbing this off as no biggie is breathtaking. What are the fallbacks? What are the consequences?

Patrick Carlyon:

Look, you’re talking about $15 billion, Danica, which just Allan argues about. She says it’s less, but she doesn’t want to find out how much it actually is. She doesn’t want to find out who was involved, who is to blame, and what we can do to make sure that this doesn’t happen again. And at best, I mean, I would call that dishonest, just the way she’s gone about it, but at best it’s disingenuous. And I’m really pleased to see that the electorate has caught on, on this and said, “This is nonsense. We need to know.” And if Jacinta Allan loses the election, there will be a Royal Commission and it will have much wider terms of reference than the one that she should call now. So, she might want to reconsider the politics of actually doing nothing, because it’s not working for her government at all.

Danica De Giorgio:

No, clearly. And it’s not just some CFMEU, of course, it’s crime. There’s so many problems going on there, Colleen. But to Patrick’s point, it’s good to see the electorate responding. What do you make of the polling?

Colleen Harkin:

Well, I think it’s a great opportunity for the coalition and for Jess Wilson in particular, because the average person looks at this and says it’s $15 billion of our money that we want to know where it’s gone. And the big question is why. Why wouldn’t you investigate that? Why is she trying to hide it, push it back? It’s a simple question to say, “This money’s gone somewhere. Where is it? Uncover it. We want the transparency.” So, I think it’s a great opportunity for the opposition. They should be pushing it harder and longer, so that it becomes a real issue at the time of the election campaign, rather than just sort of a bubble that goes away.

Danica De Giorgio:

Yeah, absolutely. And now look, before you both go, we’ve got to talk about this Kyle and Jackie O saga, isn’t it? Fascinating. Who would’ve thought? A former co-host of The Kyle and Jackie O Show on KIIS FM Jackie O Henderson. She’s addressed her bombshell exit from the decades long partnership that she had with Kyle Sandilands after he mocked her on air. Now she’s told reporters today that she is “feeling good” and that she’s healing, but could not comment on whether that she would actually return to the airwaves. Patrick, I thought their on air blowup was a stunt initially when I first saw it. But wow, I mean, they’re so highly paid as it is and they just couldn’t reconcile.

Patrick Carlyon:

It’s amazing, isn’t it? It’s the biggest media breakup of all time. It’s $200 million that were being paid reportedly over 10 years. And you’d think for that sort of money, you’d probably try and work it out. And a lot of insiders were saying it was a stunt or perhaps it was a stunt. Plainly, it wasn’t. And plainly, it’s going to cost Kyle potentially tens of millions of dollars, because he basically got to show why he has not been guilty of serious misconduct. So, the way this will play out over the coming weeks and months is absolutely fascinating.

Danica De Giorgio:

Yeah. And I just wonder, Colleen, if the only people who are going to benefit from this are now the lawyers.

Colleen Harkin:

Well, I’m pleased to tell you, Danica, I’ve never listened to an episode of their radio show, but I have read articles from time to time. And I have to say, I think that Jackie O, whatever her name is, has got a bit of a glass jaw, because my understanding of this show is that for years they have denigrated other people and bullied other people. And it’s been pretty unpleasant behaviour on their part until it has come to her. And now that she’s been ridiculed or teased or whatever you want to call it, she’s called it and said, “I’ve had enough.” But this has been their behaviour, as far as I understand, about other people for a very long time. And they’ve made a lot of money out of it. So, I don’t have a lot of sympathy for either of them.

Danica De Giorgio:

No. And I mean, if you’re going to dish out, you’re going to be prepared to take it.

Colleen Harkin:

You got to be able to take it.

Danica De Giorgio:

That’s just the way it is. I agree. Fascinating though. I look forward to seeing how it plays out. Patrick Carlyon, Colleen Harkin, good to see you both again. Thanks for joining me.

This transcript of Colleen Harkin on The Rita Panahi Show Sky News Australia from 4 March 2026 has been edited for clarity.