Topics: YouGov poll, Labor’s failures, Digital duty of care, thoughts and prayers for Helen Haines MP
Ben Fordham: We’ve got a guest joining us in the studio right now. Her name is Sarah Henderson, she’s the Shadow Communications Minister, and look, I’m not going to read the introduction to our interview with Sarah Henderson because, considering she’s a former ABC journalist, I want her to read the introduction. Let me say hello first, Sarah Henderson, good morning.
Senator Henderson: Ben, a very good morning to you.
Ben Fordham: I’m sorry to put you on the spot but usually it’s me who reads the intro to an interview. But considering what the intro is about, and considering you’re a former news reader and news presenter, I’m going to relive your journalism days right now, and you can read the intro. So just to get you in the mood…
Senator Henderson: Things are going from bad to worse for Anthony Albanese. The PM has been dealt a fresh blow in the latest poll. Labor has lost its two-party preferred lead for the first time since the last election. Very happy to read this, by the way, Ben. They’re now level at 50-50 with the Coalition. It’s Labor’s lowest ever primary vote in a YouGov poll. The Prime Minister’s net approval rating is in dangerous territory. Voters’ net satisfaction with the PM is at minus 30, and we know why, Ben. That is the lowest score he’s recorded.
Ben Fordham: You’ve still got it, Sarah Henderson. Welcome to the studio.
Senator Henderson: It’s great to join you. I did that just for you, Ben.
Ben Fordham: That’s news that you would be very happy about hearing today, no doubt.
Senator Henderson: Well, I think the polls are turning against the Prime Minister because Australians are turning against the Prime Minister. Too many things are going wrong under Labor. The economy is going off a cliff. People no longer trust this Prime Minister. People are really suffering from the cost of living from a broken economy. Even the attack on older Australians with the cut to the private health insurance rebate, and of course we’re seeing breaking social cohesion in this country, which has really been inflamed under this Prime Minister. And Australians have had enough, and as I just read, we’re now seeing that.
Ben Fordham: We know that politicians and commentators like to nominate a moment when things turn. Can you nominate a moment with Anthony Albanese, or is it a collection of all of those things you’ve just mentioned?
Senator Henderson: I think it is a collection, and it of course starts with the lies. The lies on the $275 discount on electricity prices, when electricity and gas has gone up by more than 40 per cent. It’s the lies on the Budget, the absolute guarantee that the Prime Minister gave that taxes would not go up, and now we see the economy imploding. The lies on negative gearing and capital gains tax, and Australians do not like liars. You know, we’ve seen some terrible lies. Even things like ‘I never fell off the stage’, when of course it’s clear he did. The lies he told about the terrible melons joke in the podcast, which reflected so poorly on the Japanese Prime Minister. This is a Prime Minister and a government which continues to lie, Australians are suffering and I think they’ve had enough.
Ben Fordham: Yeah, the Budget, I think was the biggest turning point of them all because there had been some lies in the lead up to that, but that was so big and so obvious. And when he said, for the 500th time, no, we won’t make those changes, and then you make those changes, and then when those changes don’t lead to any material improvement in Australia, that’s when people really bite back.
Senator Henderson: That’s exactly right and small business in particular, is really suffering. They have been betrayed, but really, right across this economy, I think there’s this despair. And in Victoria, where I am from, that is compounded by the shocking failure to manage the economy, the $15 billion of corruption. It is really going backwards. And as I say, Australians just want their old life back, and that’s why under Angus Taylor we’re so focused on our plan. And I think part of the change in the polls is because Angus Taylor, the Liberals, and Nationals do have a strong plan for cheaper power prices, to fix the economy, to lower migration, and to get Australia back on track.
Ben Fordham: I wonder whether people are also upset about twisted priorities because at the moment they keep on hearing about the government wanting to censor or police the internet, and they’re probably thinking to themselves, that’s not high on my list of things to do right now. You believe that censorship is on the agenda as far as the digital duty of care laws are concerned?
Senator Henderson: Well, we want Australians to be safe online and we want to hold big tech to account. But the digital duty of care proposed laws are an egregious attack on free speech, Ben. What the government is doing is giving itself sweeping powers to basically control what Australians say and see online, including sweeping powers for the eSafety Commissioner, who is, of course, an unelected bureaucrat. That is very concerning, compounded by things like the fake sock puppet accounts, which allow the eSafety Commissioner to track people anonymously online. And then we’ve also seen more than 1 million businesses brought into this scheme. They will have annual compliance reports, risk assessments, when you know, if you’re a local plumber running a website, you are now caught up in this crazy scheme. And we know what Labor’s motivation is because the Prime Minister let the cat out of the bag in New York when he said the next stage of the digital duty of care is to tackle misinformation and disinformation and polarisation of views because they want to shut down their political opponents. This is what this is all about, and that’s why we are fighting this legislation so hard.
Ben Fordham: Is there a chance that satire, including the Pauline Hanson Please Explain cartoons, could be taken down because someone deems them to be inappropriate or too confronting?
Senator Henderson: Look, there certainly is because when I look at the definition of excluded material, and I have the bill right in front of me, it includes any material that’s in the public interest. Now, what does that mean, Ben? The eSafety Commissioner could well say cartoons like this are not in the public interest, and therefore we’re not going to allow it. There is so much discretion to shut down material, and of course we want to see the most serious online harms stopped from being online, and that, of course, is a big focus of when we were in government. But one of the ironies of this scheme, the government is removing the mandatory codes and standards that govern unlawful material and age-restricted material, and they tell the platforms exactly what to do, how to detect and also remove things like child sexual abuse material, terrorism material, those very prescriptive obligations are being removed from this bill, and that is a real shock.
Ben Fordham: We’ve all seen the horrible thing that happened to your parliamentary colleague, Helen Haines MP. Can you tell us a bit about Helen? What’s Helen like?
Senator Henderson: Well, can I firstly say we are all so distressed and so shocked. Our thoughts and prayers are with Helen and her family and loved ones at this very difficult time. She is actually a really magnificent woman. She is universally loved right across the parliament and in her community of Indi. You would not meet a more beautiful person, frankly, and we are just so distraught and traumatised by what has happened to Helen. And I think at this stage we’re just trying to rally around her, and obviously hope, I mean it’s so distressing, hope that she gets through this as best she can. The reports are that she has one leg amputated. It’s just horrific, Ben. And at this time, we’re now, of course, looking at what we need to do to keep elected members of parliament safe in their job. But no one should be in a situation where they walk outside their workplace and face this sort of threat. So it is just horrific.
Ben Fordham: And while the focus is quite rightly on Helen, are you scared?
Senator Henderson: Yesterday, I closed my office. I’m a regional senator in Victoria, and I did so because I wanted to get expert advice from the AFP. Is there anything that we should be doing so I can protect my team? And so, yes, I think we are all frightened. We need to be vigilant, and of course, one of the great hallmarks of our democracy is that, as elected MPs and senators, we can walk around, chat to anyone. It’s not like America, not like other parts of the world, but it is frightening, and it is so scary what has happened to Helen. And as I say, our thoughts and prayers are with Helen at this horrendous time
Ben Fordham: From all of us. And thank you so much for coming in this morning, and thanks for reliving your news reading days. Really appreciate it.
Senator Henderson: Thanks, Ben.