Zoe McKenzie MP
Shadow Assistant Minister for Education and Early Learning
Shadow Assistant Minister for Mental Health
Federal Member for Flinders
TRANSCRIPT
SKY NEWS NEWSDAY INTERVIEW WITH KIERAN GILBERT AND ANDREW CHARLTON
Thursday, 31 July 2025
Topics: Childcare Reforms, Palestine, Inflation
KIERAN GILBERT: Welcome back to the program. Let’s bring in our political panel, a regular on a Thursday, Zoe McKenzie and Andrew Charlton. Zoe is the Shadow Assistant Minister for Education. You’ve been involved in these serious childcare reforms. They’ve just passed the parliament and much needed, sadly, given the events of recent months.
ZOE MCKENZIE: Indeed. So, every week, there’s almost another story of where we haven’t managed to have the right safety measures in place. The legislation that has gone through, this week, is indeed a good start. It does strengthen the powers of the Commonwealth, but a lot of this safety regulation does sit in the hands of the states and territories. We have asked the government to bring forward their planned meeting of Early Childhood Ministers currently scheduled for the middle of August. Every day we see another reason why that should be sooner rather than later. We need to get some kind of national uniformity across things like Working with Children Checks, and the sooner that happens, the better.
KIERAN GILBERT: Yeah, indeed. And it’s hard to imagine that we have to even think about this, Andrew, as it’s hard to get your head around why we would need to put these extra things in place, but we do, given the horrific nature of the stories that have emerged. And in fact, another one we’ve seen just reported in the last hour or so as well is just beyond belief.
ANDREW CHARLTON: A devastating weight on the minds of parents right across the country. And from the government’s perspective, the safety of our children is the number one priority. And I think you’ve seen that reflected this week, where in our first session, we’ve moved swiftly to enact new laws to provide higher standards and more protection and working with the states and territories to make sure that those higher standards flow through as quickly as possible.
KIERAN GILBERT:Ā Well, it’s good to see there is bipartisanship on that issue, and we hope that it just deals with that sort of vulnerability in that sector once and for all. Andrew, let me ask you about Palestine. We’re changing subject quite dramatically, but it’s another serious matter that’s being grappled with, not just by our nation, but we saw France this week, the UK, and Canada all saying they will recognize a Palestinian state. Your colleague, Jim Chalmers, today said it’s not a matter of if but when, there appears a real momentum behind this right now.
ANDREW CHARLTON: Well, I think as the Prime Minister has said, every single life matters, and most Australians continue to be horrified by the suffering that they see in the Middle East. On recognition, we’re seeing countries around the world taking different approaches. Here in Australia, the Prime Minister has been very clear. What matters is not so much the timeframe for recognition. It’s the circumstances on when that recognition would advance the prospects towards a two-state solution. That two-state solution is the bipartisan objective of both sides of Australian politics.
KIERAN GILBERT: It sounds like to me though that there is a momentum here. Well, I mean, it’s clear there is a momentum, but the Prime Minister even talking to Keir Starmer overnight, similar language, this international push to get some much-needed ceasefire and other changes in The Middle East. But it looks to me like the Prime Minister might well make this declaration when he’s in New York for the United Nations in September. It’s not that far away.
ANDREW CHARLTON:Ā The Prime Minister has been really clear. For him, this is not about scoring a political point. It’s not about winning a political argument. It’s not about making an announcement for the announcement’s sake. It’s about working towards the solution that will end the suffering and provide ongoing peace and stability for the people of the Middle East. And that solution is the two-state solution that both sides of Australian politics have signed up to. That’s what he and the Foreign Minister are working towards. And every fibre of his being and everything he is doing is working towards that practical outcome, not just an announcement or a political message.
KIERAN GILBERT: Michael McCormack, the former Deputy Prime Minister, he said, on this program a bit earlier that these nations: UK, Canada, France, have prematurely acted here and rewarded Hamas in doing so?
ZOE MCKENZIE: Yes. And may I say I, much more appreciate the Charlton narrative on this for its careful tone and explanation than the Chalmers one, which seemed quite knee-jerk in its āit will happen at some point in timeā. It’s a complex situation, as most things in the Middle East are. We are all horrified by the sights we are seeing in terms of the impact of famine on the people of Gaza, but that does not, of its very nature, mean we should be talking about the recognition of Palestine. Some of the decisions that have come out of Canada and in France are based on statements from the Palestinian Authority that is largely responsible for the West Bank, not Hamas, a terrorist organization that has ruled Gaza since 2005. So, they are very different issues. We are very much committed to a two-state solution as Andrew has rightly pointed out, but that needs to be done carefully and in pursuit of peace. It is not as an expression of empathy for what we’re seeing happening now.
KIERAN GILBERT: But if as Andrew articulated there, it can be done as part of that process. Well, the Arab League voted overnight at the UN in favour of seeing Hamas disarmed and out of the picture. If this does lead to Hamas being moved out of the pictureā¦
ZOE MCKENZIE: But Hamas is not saying they’re moving out, right? The conditions that Canada has identified are an undertaking of the Palestinian Authority in relation to the West Bank. This is Gaza and this is Hamas. We all recognize that Hamas remains a terrorist organization committed to the destruction of Israel. Once they have been disarmed, once the hostages are returned to their home, a meaningful conversation can take place, but not before then.
KIERAN GILBERT: To put that comment from Michael McCormack to you, he said that these countries have acted prematurely in rewarding the terrorists. What do you say to that?
ANDREW CHARLTON: Well, for the Labor Government, and that’s leadership from the Prime Minister, which has been incredibly consistent, the Foreign Minister, the entire cabinet, the message has been that we are here to work towards peace and stability for a long-term outcome in the Middle East. It’s not about an announcement. It’s not about scoring a political point. It’s not about winning a political argument. It’s about working towards that practical outcome of a two-state solution. And you can see the Prime Minister doing everything he can within Australia’s power to deliver that solution.
KIERAN GILBERT: So, it’s not a premature rewarding of Hamas, as Michael McCormack says, what these other nations are doing? Do you see it in that context? Because it looks like Australia is going to follow suit soon.
ANDREW CHARLTON: Well, what Australia is doing is we are making sure that we exercise every little bit of power and leverage that we have to deliver that solution, which provides peace and stability to people in the Middle East, and that solution is the two-state solution. Other countries will form their view about how they best exercise their leverage and power in the Middle East. For Australia, we are laser focused that we want that solution, and we want to use everything we do to get to that solution.
KIERAN GILBERT: It is. And as you rightly pointed out, there’s nothing about this that isn’t complex. It is all complex, and it’s diabolical, and it’s tragic. The reminder and we hardly have to give it, but, I mean, October 7 did start with the actions of that terrorist group. But, by the same token, they can’t justify everything that’s gone on since, can it?
ZOE MCKENZIE: But we must remember that’s where it started. And the fact that you’ve had a terrorist organization ruling Gaza and, frankly, using their own people as weapons in this war, you cannot in any way reward them for doing that against their own people, let alone what they’ve done in terms of over the borders to the Israeli people. So, they must not be rewarded for this, and we must be very careful about how we proceed, and not misstep in a careful stewardship towards peace in the Middle East.
KIERAN GILBERT: Now, just finally before we wrap it up, I want to get your thoughts on the inflation number yesterday. We’re changing a bit of tone in this discussion now, but does it look like we are heading for a period of further rate cuts?
ANDREW CHARLTON: Well, it looks like we’re making really great progress on inflation. The new data out showed that all three measures of inflation are now below 3%, and that’s really welcome progress that Australians should be very proud of. The government inherited inflation above 6%, and now we’ve got inflation inside that target band. And that is good news for Australia.
KIERAN GILBERT: Is the Central Bank being too cautious, do you think?
ANDREW CHARLTON: Well, the Central Bank will make up their own mind. They’re balancing all the data that’s coming through. But certainly, what we know is that lower inflation is good news for Australian families when they go to the supermarket. Lower inflation is good news for Australian businesses with mortgages. But this is the important point. Even though inflation is coming down, the government recognizes that many Australians are still doing it tough. So, what you’ve seen in the parliament in this first two weeks is the government acting on cost of living pressures by slashing HECS debts, by making medicines more affordable. We’re working hard to create the conditions that can bring interest rates down, but we’re also acting on cost of living as our top priority.
KIERAN GILBERT: Just quicklyā¦
ZOE MCKENZIE: And you just have to remember, whilst we welcome that change in inflation, most of the daily goods that a family needs to buy, whether it’s 41% increase on eggs and 20% increase in rents, those figures still continue to hit the bottom line. Mortgages are still costing $1,900 more a month. People are still doing it really tough.
KIERAN GILBERT: Zoe McKenzie, Andrew Charlton, thanks both. Nice to have you both.
ENDS.
