Senator the Hon Michaelia Cash
Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs
Leader of the Opposition in the Senate
Senator for Western Australia
TRANSCRIPT
Sky News Sharri
4 August 2025
Topics: net zero, aid to Gaza, Habour Bridge march
E&OE
Sharri Markson
Joining me now from Perth is Shadow Foreign Affairs Minister, Michaelia Cash. Michaelia, great to see you now. I’ll ask your reaction on Albanese’s $20 million in funding for Gaza, also the Harbour Bridge in a moment. But let’s start with the Productivity Commission warning that the cost of net zero transition will be considerably higher than first thought. This report came out today. Do you still think the goal of net zero is worth committing to, despite the new evidence about its mounting cost?
Senator Cash
Well, let’s be very clear, Sharri, Labor’s net zero plan is a costly con on Australians. It’s economic sabotage dressed up as ideology and nothing more. And the question that all Australians need to be asking themselves is this: net zero at what cost? I mean, Mr. Albanese told the Australian people his investment in his renewables only pathway would actually bring their prices down. And yet, you have households, you have businesses, in particular, small businesses now struggling under some of the highest energy prices ever in Australia. You have businesses closing. You have industries shrinking. You have jobs being lost. But Sharri, this is the irony of Mr. Albanese, ideological obsession – emissions in Australia are going up. So look net zero, Mr. Albanese, it is a costly con job on Australians. But it is now for the Coalition to highlight to Australians, the cost, the hypocrisy, but more than that, the consequences of Anthony Albanese’s ideological agenda.
Sharri Markson
So just to be clear, do you think it’s time to pull out of the net zero commitment?
Senator Cash
In the first instance, in 2022, we opposed Labor’s legislating of this commitment. I think people have forgotten that. Secondly, I am on the record as saying you must put the people of Australia first. That will always be my greatest priority. And net zero, at this point in time, is killing the Australian economy. That is not good enough.
Sharri Markson
All right. Now Albanese has pledged an extra $20 million, taxpayer funds, in aid for Gaza, and this is as Labor tries to appease the group of people that brought Sydney to a halt yesterday. Michaelia, is this a good use of taxpayer funds?
Senator Cash
Not if it rewards terrorism Sharri. Let’s be very clear, we all want to see more aid getting to civilians in Gaza. We all want to see the release of the hostages, and we all want to see the war to end. But guess what? This could be done by Hamas tomorrow. They themselves choose to continue with the war. Why isn’t Mr. Albanese standing up each and every day and saying, we want the war to end tomorrow – that is the responsibility of Hamas. I mean Hamas, as you and I know they have been stealing, diverting, use whatever language you want, the aid that has been going in – it is not getting to the civilians in Gaza. It is being used by Hamas to feed its soldiers to ensure that the war can continue. And Mr. Albanese needs to guarantee to the Australian people that this $20 million of taxpayer funds is not going to reward terrorism. This is not theoretical. This is a reality. Hamas is deliberately starving its own people. Why? Because they don’t care. Hamas could end this war tomorrow, Sharri. They choose not to.
Sharri Markson
And also because, of course, the humanitarian crisis plays into their hands. They’re being rewarded for it. The leaders around the world are being manipulated by Hamas and Michaelia, it seems like the world doesn’t care about the footage we’re seeing of emaciated hostages. How disturbed are you by these videos?
Senator Cash
I was utterly sickened. Hamas are terrorists. They are dedicated to the destruction of Israel. The Australian Government listed them as a terrorist organisation. Sharri, I never thought that I would live in a country where people don’t seem to understand – terrorists kill people who don’t agree with them, and they do not stop killing people until they have achieved their objective. Hamas is a listed terrorist organisation dedicated to the destruction of Israel. And if people think that Hamas are going to stop at the destruction of Israel, then you really don’t know what they are ideologically committed to. So Sharri this war could end tomorrow if Hamas released the hostages and surrendered, but they won’t. And in your introduction, you referred to the words now of one of the Hamas political leaders who said the recognition of Palestine is now one of the fruits of October 7. That is an incredibly sobering thing to hear. And I have to say, shame on Mr. Albanese and Penny Wong for not sitting back and understanding the actions the Anthony Albanese Labor government are taking, it is almost now on a daily balance basis, you are emboldening, you are rewarding terrorists.
Sharri Markson
100%. And just very quickly, because we’re just about out of time. But what did you make of the terror chants, the terror flags on our national icon, the Harbour Bridge yesterday?
Senator Cash
Sharri this wasn’t a protest. It was a political statement using one of our most iconic pieces of infrastructure that has yet again emboldened Hamas. Why weren’t the protesters chanting, end the war tomorrow, release the hostages. Lay down your arms and feed the people of Gaza. Can I tell you? I think you and I would agree, if they were doing that, I would have said now that is someone I need to listen to. But ‘death, death, death to the IDF’ and a poster of the Ayatollah Khamenei, who is dedicated to the destruction of Israel, who funds terrorism. But more than that, where are the left protesting what he does to women in his own country, he jails them for not wearing the veil. Get serious.
Sharri Markson
Out of 100,000 people, also, no one showing a picture of an emaciated hostage, no one showing the Bibas family. Michaelia Cash I really appreciate your time tonight. Thank you very much.
Senator Cash
Great to be with you Sharri.
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