Interview with Tom Steinfort, The Today Show, Channel Nine

TOM STEINFORT, HOST:    Pauline Hanson has slammed the Bondi Terror Attack Royal Commission as a failure for not confronting the real threat of radical Islam. Joining us to discuss today's headlines, we have Minister for Employment Amanda Rishworth and New South Wales Opposition Leader Kellie Sloane.

Kellie, this is in your neck of the woods, so I might start with you. Pauline Hanson says the inquiry didn't go far enough in that she wanted to see hate preachers and clerics compelled to give evidence. Do you think that would have been a good path to explore?

KELLIE SLOANE, NSW OPPOSITION LEADER:    I think we should be exploring everything. And part of the problem is that there's been a lack of confidence in this royal commission from the beginning. It was resisted by Anthony Albanese for weeks until public pressure forced it. The terms of the inquiry, the scope, has only been expanded into looking at failures of security agencies because of public pressure again, so there is this lack of confidence in it. But the report comes out. Let's see what it says. Technically, radicalisation is in scope, as it should be, because this is clearly a driver of discontent. These radical hate preachers in the suburbs are influencing vulnerable young minds, and at some point, whether it's this inquiry or another, they should be held to account for that.

TOM STEINFORT:    Would you have liked to have seen some of them called to this Royal Commission?

KELLIE SLOANE:    I think if we're looking at what creates anti-Semitism, these radical hate preachers are absolutely part of the problem. But let's see what the Commissioner says in the report. Let's see how far she goes and what steps we need to take next.

TOM STEINFORT:    Well, Amanda, interested to get your thoughts. Is this worth getting the imams, the clerics, to be in front of the Royal Commission, or do you think this is a classic Pauline Hanson play?

AMANDA RISHWORTH, MINISTER FOR EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS:    Well, first, I would say that the Royal Commission has been a very important process for many Australians to talk about and give evidence of their experience of antisemitism that they personally have felt. And I think by sort of discounting that part of the process, Pauline Hanson is not really giving the respect to the thousands of submissions and indeed the hundreds of people that gave their personal evidence. And obviously, the report has not come out, but I have a lot of confidence in Commissioner Bell. And certainly, I would put Commissioner Bell and the legal experts that are running this Royal Commission over- their judgement over Pauline Hanson. Of course, this is-

KELLIE SLOANE:    [Talks over] Can I say, that's unfair. That's unfair.

AMANDA RISHWORTH:    This is about politics for Pauline Hanson. We haven't even seen the final report. So I think to be trying to discredit the process and to try and discredit this report before it has already come out is not really a responsible course of action.

KELLIE SLOANE:    I think that's an unfair criticism. Can I say, I put a submission into that inquiry. I was there on that day. I am not criticising Commissioner Bell. I want the full scope to be look- we owe that to the victims…

AMANDA RISHWORTH:    Absolutely.

KELLIE SLOANE:    …we owe that to the families, and we owe it to people who have put in those personal submissions…

AMANDA RISHWORTH:    Absolutely.

KELLIE SLOANE:    …at great personal cost. So this is about Albo. This is about the process. This is about the terms, it is not about the Commissioner, who’s doing an outstanding job.

AMANDA RISHWORTH:    Once again, the Commissioner is independent. The Commissioner is independent.

TOM STEINFORT:    [Talks over] Amanda, sorry, I might just jump into it to bring us back on track here, Amanda, because the question was, would you like to see imams, radical preachers and clerics called before the Royal Commission? We're not discrediting the other people that have given evidence, but would you have liked to have seen them called?

AMANDA RISHWORTH:    The Royal Commission is entirely independent, and that is how it should be. It should be independent. As Kellie said, it had a wide remit of the evidence that Commissioner Bell was- and the witnesses that the team were able to call. And I believe in the independence of this Royal Commission, and I believe that it has done a very good job. And let's see the final report when it comes out.

TOM STEINFORT:    All right. Let's move along because Communications Minister Anika Wells is being urged to do whatever it takes to stop a planned live-streaming of a US execution from becoming available on social media platforms in Australia. Amanda, this is, of course, where the government's proposed Digital Duty of Care could come into play. Is this the kind of thing that you would want to see being blocked from Australia?

AMANDA RISHWORTH:    Well, firstly, I would say that Australians are deeply distressed. I've spoken to many Australians who are deeply distressed about this concept. We've been, as a country, against the death penalty, but the fact that it would be live-streamed is deeply disturbing for many people. Obviously, the Commissioner is monitoring this very carefully, and we are having a debate about how the responsibility and what government should do in terms of putting restrictions on social media companies.

But I've got a pretty clear message here for some of these platforms. Don't stream this if it does go ahead. There is a responsibility on each and every one of these platforms to not only to keep their social licence, but not to do harm. 

TOM STEINFORT:    [Talks over] But if they don't do this themselves, will you block it?

AMANDA RISHWORTH:    Well, look, the Commissioner is not able to proactively block it. We don't have the laws, but she is monitoring this. But there is a responsibility, and we are having this debate about a duty of care. Of course, the Opposition has immediately come out and will not support that piece of legislation. But we need to have more responsible platforms in this country, and they need to take some responsibility here, and my message to them is don't stream this.

TOM STEINFORT:    Kellie, is this the exact case where we should be stepping in?

KELLIE SLOANE:    Yeah, absolutely, and we need more than saying, don't stream it. We need to say, you will pay the price if you stream it. We will fine you. We need to get tough with these tech giants because it is-

AMANDA RISHWORTH:    [Talks over] Well, I hope you're going to tell this to your federal party, Kellie, because they are blocking our duty of care.

KELLIE SLOANE:    Can I just say, I've got my own opinion, Amanda, and this is dangerous. This was a monstrous act by an individual, but we cannot get back to public streaming of barbarism in this country, and I'll stand by that any day of the week.

TOM STEINFORT:    [Talks over] So you would like your- and you’d want your federal counterparts to take that on board?

KELLIE SLOANE:    I'm not responsible for what they say. Can I say, though, I would threaten bans and fines for anyone who streams this kind of vile and monstrous content and impacts our young people in this country.

TOM STEINFORT:    All right. Well, let's have a look at this one now. Finally, Australia's great everyday headaches have been revealed in a new survey. We're talking about getting into a scorching hot car, that buzzing sound of a mosquito that keeps you up at night. They're all topping the list. Kellie, anything that really ticks you off?

KELLIE SLOANE:    Oh, yeah, the mozzies. The Bogong moths in Sydney at the moment, that's really annoying. But, yeah, there's a whole list. Lawn blowers on a Sunday morning early.

TOM STEINFORT:    Sorry about that. Yeah, I do enjoy that on a Sunday morning, tidying the joint up. Amanda, what about you?

AMANDA RISHWORTH:    Look, I think this one's on me, but it's the daily search for my keys in the morning. I know that responsibility probably sits with me, but trying to find them every single morning as I'm rushing out of the house is pretty annoying.

TOM STEINFORT:    Yeah. You’re finding your keys and you look around and then you go, oh, hang on, they were already in my pocket, working beautifully. All right. Kellie, Amanda, great to see you both. Thank you.