Topics: ISIS Brides, Farrer By Election, regional communications, Port Arthur
Kieran Gilbert: Let’s return to politics now and go live to the Shadow Communications Minister, Sarah Henderson. Sarah Henderson, thanks for your time. I want to start with this cohort of so-called ISIS brides that are in Damascus now. What more should and could the government be doing on that front?
Senator Henderson: Well Kieran, I don’t think Australians believe this Government when they say this has got nothing to do with us. Community Safety must come first. These are women who went to Syria to join a death cult, to join one of the most horrific terrorist groups in the world, and the Government should be doing much more than it is currently doing, including temporary exclusion orders, and also it has the power to block the issuing of passports. And I think Australians have got every reason to question the Government’s integrity here, it looks like they are coming through the back door. The Government even voted against a bill we put up in the parliament which would have prevented third parties from assisting these types of people from returning to Australia. So I think the Government needs to do much more, because fundamentally, our community safety must come first.
Kieran Gilbert: Well, there’s a lack of sympathy for the adults involved here, I think you’re 100% right on that. There is the legal challenge though, isn’t it, of Australian citizens having the right to return, that’s quite a big threshold to get over for the Government, isn’t it?
Senator Henderson: Well, it is. And the problem is that they have not been transparent. Do these women pose any danger? Have they been assessed by security agencies? Clearly, there is a lot going on behind the scenes. The New South Wales government is aware of their return and so fundamentally, the Government’s obligation is to Australians and to the safety of Australians, and they are not fulfilling their obligations to Australians by allowing these women to come through the back door without the appropriate checks, or without working closely with security agencies
Kieran Gilbert: On the Farrer by-election, was there another option, rather than preferencing One Nation? Is it a risky approach for the Liberal Party to give One Nation any sort of help whatsoever, given they are such a threat to parties on the right in Australian politics?
Senator Henderson: Well, Kieran, our focus very much in Farrer is ensuring the people of Farrer have the very best representative, and that’s why we’re asking people to vote Liberal, Raissa Butkowski in Farrer. She will be someone who’s a true local, who will stand up for the people of Farrer, whether it’s regional infrastructure, whether it’s water, whether it’s, of course, the local hospitals, including in Albury, so that’s what our focus is, and we’re very much hoping that our Liberal representation can continue in Farrer with Raissa’s election on the ninth of May,
Kieran Gilbert: Onto a couple of other issues, you’ve put out a news release today critical of the government over a regional tech hub, or the fact that they’re not going to continue supporting it. What is this? Can you explain to our viewers, and why is it important to people in the regions?
Senator Henderson: Well, Anne Webster and myself have put out a release today calling for funding certainty from the Government. The regional tech hub, which is run through the National Farmers Federation, plays a very important role in assisting regional Australians connect to the internet, you know, connect their phones. And of course, in the regions, particularly in remote parts of the country, this can be very challenging. They’ve received $3 million sorry, $6 million over three years, and there is a funding cliff, that money runs out on the 30th of June. So where is the Government on this? The Government promised, and the minister’s office, Minister Anika Wells promised that there would be certainty by last December, and the regional tech hub is being basically led along, not knowing whether they can continue their operations. So it is time that we saw some certainty on the tech hub, and particularly when they’re really cutting and slashing and burning so many regional comms funding programmes, including the mobile black spots programme, which shockingly, Kieran has been cut, and so the Government must do much better than this.
Kieran Gilbert: Now finally, you covered the Port Arthur massacre, you were there days after the atrocity. In fact, as a former journalist, you won a Walkley award interviewing the hero nurse involved. I want to play a little bit of that report. Have a listen.
Audio of Senator Henderson: And so you heard those gunshots, and that was when you got the, after a very short time, got the warning to run,
Audio of Lynne Beavis: To run, yeah.
Audio of Senator Henderson: You were literally hiding behind that wall.
Audio of Lynne Beavis: Towards the end of the building.
Kieran Gilbert: That’s the hero, Nurse Lynne Beavis, extraordinary story. Hard to believe 30 years ago, Sarah.
Senator Henderson: It is so hard to believe, Kieran. This is an event that traumatised the nation, and Lynne Beavis was, and remains a true national hero. She was a nurse; she ran to the Broad Arrow cafe. 22 people were shot in that cafe, 12 fatally, and she told me things in the days following that event, that horrific mass murder, that I can never even repeat because they were so horrendous. And I went back there five years ago with Lynne; it was the first time that she returned to Port Arthur. So this, of course, was a horrific time for the nation, but one that I spoke about in my first speech. Of course, as we all know, John Howard passed incredible gun law reform rules, our laws that have changed our nation for the better, but it is a day of reflection, and certainly it’s very, very, very personal for me.
Kieran Gilbert: Yeah, indeed, and I know that you mentioned that wonderful woman in your opening, your first speech, thank you for reflecting on that.