Senator Michaelia Cash
Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs
Leader of the Opposition in the Senate
Senator for Western Australia
6PR Perth Live with Mark Doran
16 January 2026
Topics: Pride in Australia Day, woke culture, antisemitism legislation
E&OE
Mark Doran
We are about to be joined it’s fair to say, by a favourite of Perth Live and someone who has always got plenty to say. At a time when the hate speech Bill has made Canberra perhaps more divided than ever, comes a call to celebrate what binds us together, a call that comes from Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, Liberal. Senator for WA, Michaelia Cash, good afternoon.
Senator Cash
Good afternoon, Mark and good afternoon to 6PR listeners.
Mark Doran
It’s a special day for the six PR listeners. As we move on to a new era, I think next week. It’s a big week. Next week for lots of reasons. Senator Cash, well, I’ll start with the main reason, I suppose, to be fair, that we’ve got you on was the opinion piece in the West Australian today. I like it. I like it a lot. It said, amongst other things, that Australia Day has been recast by activists as something to apologize for, rather than celebrate under the woke culture of shame and division that has come to dominate parts of the national conversation. You’re saying there is no shame in national pride on Australia Day. And I think that’s a good call. It is. However, as I mentioned, interesting timing for that call.
Senator Cash
Look, Australia Day is the 26th of January and sadly, Mark, it’s that time of year again when the woke activist movement tries to turn Australia Day into an annual grievance. Most Australians want unity, and I’m standing with them. Australians are done. They are done with being shamed for loving their country. National pride isn’t extreme, but I can tell you what is – trying to cancel Australia Day. So what I’m saying because I can tell you the emails, the Facebooks, all of that, it’s all out there. Enough with the guilt trips. Enough with treating our flag like provocation. Enough with turning Australia Day into a moment where ordinary Australians are told that they’re wrong for feeling, for feeling, you know, proud about our country. But also, I’d say this, anyone Mark who wants perspective at this present point in time, needs to look at Iran. People there, young people in particular, are risking everything. They are being slaughtered. Why? Because they are fighting for the basic freedoms which we have in Australia, to speak, to protest, to worship and to live without fear. We have those freedoms. We are incredibly lucky, and Australia Day is the day to celebrate them and be proud.
Mark Doran
Okay, your piece says that Australia Day should mark a turning point, a day when Australians say calmly and confidently that we are done apologizing for loving our country. But what do you say to those who call Australia Day invasion day?
Senator Cash
Well, look in relation to that, I hear what they’re saying, and of course, we should be honest about our history, but we also need to be focused on practical outcomes that improve lives. Changing the date doesn’t fix disadvantage. We can acknowledge the past and still have one day that unites our great country. The reality still is this, 1788, was the beginning of what has become one of the best places on Earth. There was a great comment online, and it said, you know, like all histories there have been highs and lows, but we as a country have strived to make Australia a fair and peaceful place to live. So regardless of the attempts to negatively frame our history, I’m going to celebrate and be grateful to our forebears who fought through blood, sweat and tears to build the fabulous foundation of modern Australia.
Mark Doran
Senator 10 days out, and there’ll be a lot more said about that before we get to January 26. Do you see a day soon, a year soon, where we’re not having these debates at this time of year.
Senator Cash
I think now with Australia, but in particular, following Bondi, this is now about standing up for what we believe in, standing up for our values, saying no and rejecting wokeness, the shame industry that tries to make Australians feel bad for loving their country, that treats the flag like it’s offensive and turns Australia Day into an annual apology instead of a celebration. What did Bondi do for us? It reminded us how fragile peace can be. It only takes one act of hatred or violence to shatter a normal day and change lives forever. It was, it was a terrible shock, and it showed that the safe, open way we live isn’t something we can take for granted. Our peace Mark is protected by shared values, respect for life, the rule of law and Australians looking out for each other. Let’s be proud of our fantastic country, and I still genuinely believe we’re the luckiest country in the world. And quite frankly, I am just sick and tired Mark of being told by the woke left that I need to apologize for being Australian.
Mark Doran
You referenced Bondi, and your opinion piece, well written, also references Bondi. I’m interested in this, and I’m going to move on now, if we can to the events of next week. When you’re called back to Parliament early, you say in your opinion piece, and I love the line in moments of crises, Australians instinctively come together. We do not retreat into ideological camps and we stand side by side. That’s not happening. That’s the opposite to what’s happening with the hate speech bill. Can politics not become such a part of something as important as this? Can’t politics be put aside as we sort out our way through what’s a really rough part of our history as a nation?
Senator Cash
So I think unfortunately and across Australia, they’ve woken up to this very quickly. The Prime Minister, following Bondi, I think Australians expected his government to bring forward a focused legislative response that would strengthen protection for Jewish Australians against antisemitism, that would confront violent Islamic extremism and ensure the law can deter, disrupt and prosecute the conduct that fuels this violence. The Bill that we were given doesn’t do that. It fails to address violent Islamic extremism. But I think the most offensive part of this Bill, and I have been contacted by people across Australia. We’ve had over 7000 submissions to the parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, upon which I sit. Australians are actually utterly appalled that the Prime Minister would present a Bill to the Parliament that risks silencing decent Australians while protecting the hate preachers. Mark that is utterly extraordinary. I mean, Mr. Albanese, how do you bring in laws that actually leave it open for hate preachers to not just continue what they’re doing, but they’ve actually written in black and white a religious text defence. In other words, I’m a hate preacher. I quote a religious text, I then claim protection that is utterly extraordinary. The Australian public across the board, expects our Parliament to stop hate, and yet, Mr. Albanese has presented us with a Bill that’s going to hand extremists a legal shield. Quite frankly, I don’t know how much lower you can go.
Mark Doran
The loophole if that’s the right term, it’s probably not. The way you talk about is only if your term hate preachers, claim they are uttering those parts of scripture for education. Is that correct?
Senator Cash
This is the problem. The so called religious text exemption creates a gaping loophole. Nothing is clear about it, including the Department could not advise the committee what a religious text actually is. There’s a great legal expert. His name is Chris Merritt. Many of your listeners would know him. He actually said to the committee, he warned that this exemption effectively provides a how to guide for hate preachers. In fact, Peter Wertheim from the Executive Council of Australian Jewry his evidence to the committee was, and this is what he said, it creates a loophole so wide it risks rendering the offense ineffective. So what you have is legislation that is so widely drafted, it bundles together, I kid you not, hate speech offenses, firearms policy, migration powers and regulatory changes. It has made proper scrutiny almost impossible. But what we do know is this, the results are actually perverse. Hate preachers are actually protected, but ordinary Australians, people listening into this show right now risk prosecution, and it’s not just for talking lawful speech. This goes across all forms of social media as well. But again, the Prime Minister has failed Australians because he said to them that he would address what occurred at Bondi, and the legislation just doesn’t do that.
Mark Doran
You prosecute a good case there Senator Cash. The only thing I would say is that, well, you’re the opposition leader in the Senate. The opposition leader Sussan Ley, said immediately, very quickly, after the events of December 14, that it was the Prime Minister’s fault, and Parliament had to come back and there had to be laws immediately. They’ve been pretty quick, but now you’re suggesting that they need more time. They need more debate. I get that. And then the thing I said, I would say, I suppose, to Sussan Ley if I was talking to her, because this is her quote, not yours. She says the hate speech laws are unsalvageable. I’d say to your leader and yourself, Senator Cash, don’t let perfect get in the way of better. We need to make progress on this quickly.
Senator Cash
In the first instance in terms of the recall of the Parliament. The Parliament could have actually sat last December. We could have expressed our condolence. We could have condemned radical Islamic extremism to make it very, very clear where we stand united as a Parliament, and we could have pledged ourselves to eradicate antisemitism. What the government could also have done is progressed work on the measures before Christmas, tabled legislation that could have then gone off to a committee that Australians across the board could have seen. We could have properly scrutinized it, and then returned and dealt with the issue. The other thing I would say is this, though, there are two very clear tests for Labor’s legislation. The first is this: does it eradicate antisemitism? And second, does it crack down on radical Islamic extremism? And sadly, for Australians, as it stands, the Bill fails both tests. In fact, they’ve marked more than 500 pages, and in those 500 pages, your listeners might be interested to know that the term radical Islam is actually not mentioned once. Now, if the Prime Minister can’t name the problem, how in God’s name, do you actually tackle it? But what the Prime Minister has done is unite Australians across the board against this legislation.
Mark Doran
Senator Cash, it’s a complex and deep conversation, but an important conversation to have. I hope it goes very well for our nation next week in Canberra.
Senator Cash
Thank you very much Mark, Great to be on the show.
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