Colleen Harkin on The Rita Panahi Show Sky News Australia – 4 November 2025

In this interview, Colleen Harkin appeared on The Rita Panahi Show – Sky News Australia to discuss the findings of the IPA’s research into mass-migration.

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

Danica De Giorgio:

This News Corp senior writer, Patrick Carlyon, and Institute of Public Affairs Research Fellow, Colleen Harkin. Thank you to both of you for joining me. Patrick, these protesters tried to block the entrance of the expo. My question would be, do any of them actually work? They’re out there on a Tuesday morning.

Patrick Carlyon:

Well, my question, Danica, is have they all flown up from Melbourne? Because I think we’re into a hundred and something weeks of pro-Palestinian protesters that disrupt the city, they bring trams to a standstill. They’re aiming to disrupt. And I think that’s the problem that I have today when looking at those scenes we saw earlier. They talked about a peaceful protest. Well, it wasn’t a peaceful protest because they were pushing against barricades, they were trying to disrupt an event. I think the police, and I think for most neutral observers, the police response to that you’d say is well done.

Danica De Giorgio:

Oh, look, I completely agree with you. Yeah, I’m surprised that this isn’t happening in Melbourne today. I know that both of you are there at the moment. And Colleen, the other issue that I have is that once again, we’re actually seeing police officers being taken off the beat, as they do weekend, weekend out, to deal with these serial pests.

Colleen Harkin:

Yeah, correct, Danica, I think the average law-abiding Australian citizen is sick to death of watching our taxpayer dollars get thrown down the drain, sort of organising having to control things. It just shouldn’t be existing. If these people were out there protesting saying, “Free Palestine from Hamas,” I think a lot of us might have a little bit of empathy for it, but that’s not what they’re doing. They’re out there calling for the eradication of Israel and disrupting the average person’s ability to go about their ordinary business. I think we’re thoroughly sick of it.

Danica De Giorgio:

I completely agree. I mean, and as you said, I mean it’s happening in Melbourne every weekend. Businesses are sick of it. People are sick of it. And now today in Sydney. Enough is enough. Now look, let’s talk immigration. The latest news poll has revealed 64% of voters want fewer immigrants moving to Australia, including 39% who want a lot fewer, as opposition leader Sussan Ley faces pressure from MPs to go harder than Peter Dutton on immigration policy. Well, I’ve got to say, Patrick, I don’t think that the Liberal Party, the Coalition prosecuted their immigration policy not nearly enough, particularly during the dying weeks of this year’s election, but the reality is is that Big Australia keeps getting bigger. Why are we so hesitant in this country to have a proper debate on this?

Patrick Carlyon:

Look, it’s a conversation we have to have, and I think people frankly are scared of being labelled a racist if they actually say less immigration or let’s look at this or let’s talk about where the immigrants are coming from. And I think the other big issue here is the fact that ordinary Australians are suffering. They can’t buy houses. There’s not enough affordable housing. There’s not enough infrastructure, whether it’s hospitals or roads or whatever, to actually allow for these massive influxes of immigrants to come in. And I think people are getting sick of it. And I think that’s a really telling, you mentioned the 39% are very opposed, want a lot less immigration, there’s 64% who think it should be less. I mean, as I said, this is a conversation we have to be having.

Danica De Giorgio:

Oh, look, I agree. And it has, you’re right, it’s exacerbated the housing crisis as well as the cost of living crisis. And I’ve got to say, Colleen, I noticed well in the latest news poll that support for One Nation is at record highs right now. I just wonder if this is linked. We know that Pauline Hanson is very outspoken when it comes to issues like immigration.

Colleen Harkin:

Look, the IPA research would concur with those polls. Our research says that 71% of Australians want a temporary pause on immigration. Australians are a multi-ethnic society and we value the contribution of people from all ethnicities around the world. What we don’t want and what people are protesting about is mass and unplanned immigration. So that figure of 71% just shows that the vast majority of Australians want the government to take a considered view of the impact of what’s going on. To Patrick’s point that he just said, the ramification for social cohesion, housing affordability, it’s all wrapped up in the same thing. And I think that’s where One Nation’s interest is increasing, that people, Pauline Hanson has been talking about this for a very long time and has been consistent in her message of not being racist, but being pro-Australian and looking after Australians. And I think the average person is not seeing either of the major parties address this problem.

Danica De Giorgio:

No, I agree. And to Patrick’s point earlier, I think you’re seen as racist or some sort of right-wing nutjob if you dare to speak out about it. It’s not racist to have a conversation about immigration levels in this country, and it’s just sad that everyone gets tarnished with this same brush. Let’s move on now. Senior Liberal MPs have told the Australian it’s highly likely that Sussan Ley will dump the party’s net zero policy to safeguard her leadership and keep the Coalition united. At the same time, Conservative MPs are now backing Angus Taylor to lead the party to the next election. Patrick, there’s no doubt the polls for Sussan Ley, they are so bad right now, and that’s an understatement. How critical is it for the party to get a position on net zero and fast?

Patrick Carlyon:

They have to do it straight away. As Colleen said, One Nation is polling at about 15%. The Liberal Party’s at 24%. They’re actually not that far apart. You’ve got the Conservatives, especially in the region, saying, “Well, hang on. We need to dump this and we need to dump it soon.” You’ve got the more moderates of the party in a lot of those sort of teal-held seats or teal-threatened seats sort of saying, “Well, hang on, we need to be more moderate.” The party’s really just, it’s fighting itself more than it’s opposing the government. It needs to be fixed and it needs to be addressed soon so that the parties involved can actually begin to move on. Because as it is, they’re just tearing each other apart.

Danica De Giorgio:

Yeah. And all they’re doing is talking about themselves, which doesn’t help. That’s not what voters want. They want clear policy and some decisiveness. Colleen, let’s talk about the leadership. Do you think that Sussan Ley is going to last as leader, even if she does indeed scrap net zero?

Colleen Harkin:

The trouble here is that I don’t see how you can have a party where you have, give or take, say 50% of your members who support net zero and 50% who don’t. I don’t see how you can move forward as a party with that level of internal division. Net zero, of course it should be dropped. I mean, it is the greatest transfer of wealth from ordinary Australians to those who are recipients of government subsidies. Australians want affordable and reliable energy. IPA research again tells you that 79% of Australians just want affordable and reliable energy, and net zero doesn’t give that. So of course the Liberal Party should drop it. The ultimate challenge there is who will survive going forward in terms of policy commitment. Because as I said, I just don’t see how you can have a group of people who have opposing views on that policy.

Danica De Giorgio:

Well, they’re completely hamstrung by the moderates right now, and it’s just sending this country quite backwards. Let’s talk coal. Research commissioned by the Nationals has revealed that new coal-fired power plants would bring down household power prices by 25%, and refurbishing extinguished, existing stations rather could lower retail costs even further. Well, look, Patrick, the problem is, of course, we’re getting rid of these coal plants with no plan B to keep the lights on in this country. We need that baseload power. I mean, every summer we’re told in a heatwave, do what you can to minimise the electricity because the grid’s not coping. What do you make of this research?

Patrick Carlyon:

Oh, look, it’s fascinating, I think. But you look at the renewables push, it is expensive, it is pushing up prices. And I think the important point here is where is the line in the sand? Where will Australians finally say we can’t afford to continue to try and lead the world on this renewable campaign? I think Barnaby Joyce said this, he said the election tagline for something like coal-fired power stations is, “We’re for pensioners, we’re not for Paris.” And I think it’s a very catchy line because people can’t continue to keep paying more and more for their energy.

Danica De Giorgio:

That’s a great line actually. I think that would resonate very well. Colleen, what do you make of this research?

Colleen Harkin:

Well, I think a lot of people have forgotten that not very long ago, Victorians had the cheapest energy bills in the world because of our coal supply and that now we’re dealing with some of the most expensive. We’re an unreliable and expensive energy supply. And China, we dig our coal out, we send it over to China, and they have more than 3,000 coal-fired power stations and are building more. So it is national self-harm as far as I’m concerned. We don’t have a plan for going forward. This push of renewables only, it is national self-harm and I can’t see any reason why. If even those people who want to have clean energy down the track, we should not be doing it at this reckless speed that is destroying everything that we have, our way of life, our cost of living, everything that goes with the energy security that we need.

Danica De Giorgio:

Now look, before you both go, aggravated home robberies have reached record highs in Victoria with innocent Victorians being terrorised in their homes by burglars carrying weapons at more than 150 times per week. Here we go again, Patrick. The crime crisis just keeps getting worse.

Patrick Carlyon:

It does just keep getting worse. You’re looking on average at a house being broken into by armed offenders on average once an hour in Melbourne at the moment. It has just kept on escalating. These are the same kids. They’re wielding machetes. People feel scared in their homes. We at the Herald Sun had a story last week about, we called her Supergran. She confronted two armed thugs in her living room late in the night. These stories are happening every day in Melbourne. These are not isolated events. And people are terrified. I read somewhere about people locking their bedrooms when they go to sleep at night in case armed intruders come through the door. It has got that bad and it is just getting worse.

Danica De Giorgio:

It is just getting worse. And apparently the solution is the machete bins. That’ll solve all of the problems in the state. Patrick and Colleen, we have to leave it there. Thanks very much to both of you for your time. Appreciate it.

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