Senator the Hon Michaelia Cash
Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs
Leader of the Opposition in the Senate
Senator for Western Australia
TRANSCRIPT
2BS Radio Bathurst
26 September 2025
Topics: Albanese-Trump meeting, cost of living, Labor’s foreign policy failures
E&OE
Kerry Peck
I’m going to love talking to the person that I’m going to talk to right now. It’s the leader of the opposition in the Senate, Senator Michaelia Cash. Good morning.
Senator Cash
Good morning, and good morning to your listeners.
Kerry Peck
Thank you very much indeed for your time this morning. I really, really do appreciate it. It really is good of you to give us some time today, because, you know, at this particular stage in our country’s history, it really is a strange time at the least.
Senator Cash
Look, it’s very strange times. And I have to say, one of the biggest concerns that I have is the turning away by our Prime Minister Anthony Albanese from the US-Australia alliance. I’ve never really worried about this country, Kerry, and yet under this government, I really do start to have doubts as to whether or not they take the US-Australia alliance seriously. I mean, you would know this, the alliance is the cornerstone of our security, our prosperity, and when Mr. Albanese can’t keep that trust strong, it’s not just his failure, it’s Australia’s risk. And that’s just not good enough.
Kerry Peck
One of the things that bothers me at the moment is the fact that, okay, there’s a meeting coming up with Donald Trump in the White House. Now, of course, if you have a meeting on the sidelines of some of the stuff that goes on, well, then it’s pretty private and so on. But when you go to the White House, remember back to the Ukrainian president and the dressing down he got. It really could be a problem, couldn’t it?
Senator Cash
Well, that’s up to Mr. Albanese. He needs to go in there, when he finally sits down with President Trump, it can’t just be a photo opportunity. He has got to walk out Kerry, with concrete outcomes for Australia. We need an assurance that AUKUS will be delivered in full, because our national security depends on it. He has got to get, like we did when we were in government, protections for Australian jobs against US tariffs. And thirdly, he needs to ensure we have a recommitment to the Quad. Now this is no longer about personal pride. This is about Australia’s standing, and Mr. Albanese, he has got to perform at this meeting.
Kerry Peck
We seem to be running around the world stage and forgetting about some of the problems that we’ve got at home right now, which is cost of living, it’s housing. It’s all this stuff that’s going on.
Senator Cash
Oh, look, absolutely and at this point in time, I mean, Mr. Albanese was grandstanding in the Pacific, unfortunately, recently, as you know, and yet that was a complete, total and utter failure. They were, you know, choosing symbolic headlines in New York, whilst our own region is currently being neglected, which I think is very, very serious. I mean, you’ve got reports at the moment that Vanuatu is preparing to sign a policing agreement with China after snubbing Australia. I mean, you’ve got to be kidding me. That exposes yet another serious foreign policy failure by the Albanese government. Of course, you’ve got them chasing headlines in New York and recognising a terrorist group called Hamas. Hamas, Kerry are terrorists. You don’t reward terrorists, and that’s what Mr. Albanese has done. And then, of course, at home, what do you have? You’ve got Labor promising cheaper power, more homes, free visits to the doctor, and lower taxes. And what’s Mr. Albanese delivering here at home? Bills are up. Housing targets are missed. Out of pocketcosts are skyrocketing, and new taxes are on the table. Quite frankly, instead of racing around the world and grandstanding, perhaps he should start delivering back here at home. Australians, I think, expected better from this prime minister, and they are right to feel let down.
Kerry Peck
Yeah, back to power bills. I’ve just received my latest power bill, and the power bill itself has gone up by 50%.
Senator Cash
Can I tell you, Kerry, I talk to people every single day, just like you do, right? When they tell me things like this, the cost of essentials has now surged. As you just said, electricity up 39%, food up 14%. I mean, if you’re a mum and dad, your education expenses for your kids up 17%. I actually no longer know how Australians are surviving under this government. They are left with less in their pocket every week because of Mr. Albanese’s policies. You’ve now seen a surge in the food bank centres of people now going there because they’ve got to make a choice, do I pay my mortgage or do I eat? You’ve got to be kidding me. Of course you’ve got to keep the roof over the kids’ heads, which means they’re now turning up at food banks because they can’t afford to eat. I mean, this is just – this is the reality, though. Labor, this is a fact, has presided over the biggest collapse in living standards in the developed world, it is as simple as that. Australians are paying the price now, sadly, through their higher mortgages, their higher power bills, their groceries, their rents, and we’ve got to highlight this, and then we’ve got to put forward an alternative to stop it.
Kerry Peck
But at this stage, you’ve got to have an opposition against this particular government, right, that is united, right, and also, of course, forceful as well. And so far, as I said, there’s a littleargy bargy going on at the moment, it’s the elephant in the room, and you can’t ignore it. Can you?
Senator Cash
Look at the end of the day, you are right. Our role as an opposition is to hold this government to account. We have heard loud and clear that Australians, I can tell you, are worried about the country’s growing debt. They are worried about what that means for future generations. They’re worried about who’s going to pick up the bill with Labor’s higher taxes. They’re worried about, can they pay their bills on a daily basis now? So our role as the opposition is to not talk about ourselves, not to focus on ourselves internally, but to squarely put the Australian people front and centre and ensure that we are holding the Albanese government to account. No self-indulgence on our behalf, but squarely putting the acid on Mr. Albanese and the impact his policies are having on the Australian people.
Kerry Peck
Thank you so much for your time this morning.
Senator Cash
Great to be with you.
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