Senator the Hon Michaelia Cash
Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs
Leader of the Opposition in the Senate
Senator for Western Australia
TRANSCRIPT
Sky News with Danica De Giorgio
22 August 2025
Topics: Netanyahu criticism of Albanese; Hamas atrocities; Gaza war; Chinese companies;
E&OE
Danica De Giorgio
I’m joined by Shadow Foreign Affairs Minister, Michaelia Cash. Senator, it’s good to catch up with you ss always. Look Benjamin Netanyahu has stepped up his criticism of Anthony Albanese, telling Sharri Markson that his record is forever tarnished by the weakness he has shown in the face of these Hamas terrorist monsters. What does this mean for the relationship between the two countries now?
Senator Cash
Well, in the first instance, Danica, when you reward terrorists, as Prime Minister Albanese has done, I don’t know how your record is anything but tarnished forever. That was an utterly extraordinary interview. But Danika, I think it was also a really salient reminder for all of us of what actually occurred on October the seventh, 2023. The worst terrorists in the world, savages, murdered women, raped women, beheaded men, burnt babies alive in front of their parents, took hundreds of hostages, many of whom they later murdered, and many of whom are still in the tunnels. And let’s be very, very clear, Hamas was not exercising its right to self-defence. It was seeking to achieve its long held ambition, to see the destruction of Israel. I have a simple principle, Hamas are terrorists. They do not share, as you have said, the same values that we share. You do not reward terrorists, and yet, that is exactly what Mr. Albanese has done. Israel aren’t just fighting for their life. They are fighting for the shared values that we live here in Australia on a daily basis – freedom, democracy, the rule of law. Hamas don’t care about any of them, and yet, what has Mr. Albanese and Penny Wong done? They have said to Israel in their time of need, we’re walking away from you, and we’re warning the terrorists. That is a shameful record for this government to have.
Danica De Giorgio
It’s an absolute disgrace. And yet, here we are with a situation where Hamas is actually openly praising Labor and has done multiple times, and that is an absolute blight on this country. Benjamin Netanyahu also said this, have a listen.
Prime Minister Netanyahu
He called appeasement feeding the crocodile. You know, you feed the crocodile that’s chasing you in the hope that he will somehow spare you. But he said he’s not going to spare you. He’s going to eat everything you give and then eat you. And that’s what the, you know, the Western leaders, including unfortunately in Australia, are doing.
Danica De Giorgio
Look, and I agree with him. He’s trying to quote Churchill there, but this could have all been resolved, Senator from the start, if the world just called for the hostages to be released on October 8. Yet, of course, Penny Wong called for restraint. Labor’s gone down this appeasement route from day one, as has the UK, Canada, France. What does this mean for the future of the West, when these leaders are essentially bowing down to terror.
Senator Cash
You’re absolutely right. Appeasement never works, all it has done in this case is actually embolden the terrorists. Danica, there was only one response for Penny Wong and Anthony Albanese on October the eighth, 2023 after the atrocities occurred, it was the right response, the correct response and the moral response, and that was, of course, to call immediately on the terrorists to release unconditionally the hostages. And yet they didn’t. They called for restraint and look where we are now. Appeasement does not work. It emboldens. But I think what was so important about last night’s interview, and in particular, from Australia’s perspective, we wake up every day in the luckiest country in the world, and I think we’re almost starting to take for granted the fact that we are a country that abides by the rule of law. We are a country that has democratic elections. We are a country that has freedom of speech, that has freedom of the press. They are the values that Israel is currently fighting for. For God’s sakes Hamas are a terrorist group. They do not share those same values. Mr. Albanese and Penny Wong, they will go down in history as people who did not fight for the fundamental freedoms that we live and breathe in Australia on a daily basis. Danica, this cannot end well for Australia. Ultimately, you reward terrorists who don’t just not share your values – they fundamentally oppose them and fight against them. That’s the country we now live in under Anthony Albanese and Penny Wong.
Danica De Giorgio
Yeah, I agree, and I actually think this re-elected Albo is more dangerous than the first. This radical agenda is just getting fundamentally worse, and our values are being eroded day by day by these dreadful, morally bankrupt decisions that we’re seeing play out. Now, before we let you go, I just want to ask you about Chinese spies, because concerns have been raised about the influence of the Chinese Communist Party after the director of Chinese property developer Country Garden Australia said he could pay party officials to access the WeChat messages of his staff in Sydney and in Melbourne. How concerned should we be about this?
Senator Cash
Well, I saw those reports, and they are concerning. I mean any company that operates in Australia, it doesn’t matter where the company is headquartered. If you are operating in Australia, you abide by our laws, and that means upholding the principles of privacy, of transparency, but more than that, respect for employees. And so I think that we need to make it very, very clear that we are concerned by those reports. And if you work in Australia and you employ people in Australia, then you abide by our laws, that’s it.
Danica De Giorgio
No, I completely agree with you. Good, good point. Shadow Foreign Affairs Minister Michaelia Cash always great to catch up with you. Thank you so much for joining me on the show this evening.
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