Zoe McKenzie MP
Shadow Cabinet Secretary
Shadow Assistant Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations
Member for Flinders
TRANSCRIPT
NEWS24 NEWSDAY WITH KIERAN GILBERT AND ANDREW CHARLTON
Thursday, 20 August 2026
Topics: Victorian construction sector Royal Commission; National Anti-Corruption Commission; sovereign AI.
KIERAN GILBERT: Let’s return now to some drama out of Victoria with that Royal Commission announced and bring in the Cabinet Secretary, Andrew Charlton, and Shadow Cabinet Secretary, Zoe McKenzie. This is quite a strong intervention by the Premier. Only three months to the election. It literally is at the 11th hour of this government. What do you make of it?
ZOE MCKENZIE: Well, he’s doing the best job he possibly can do to tell you that he’s not a Labor Premier. He’s not the political arm of the CFMEU that we have seen over and over through the period of Dan Andrews and Jacinta Allan. But it’s very important to remember that Ben Carroll has been at all the table for all the decisions. And he’s come out today and pretty much said, I’ve been aware of the serious allegations of corruption for at least as long as Nick McKenzie has been reporting on it, that is, for over two years. And so now he’s created a Royal Commission and he’s going to look at all the money that’s gone into the Big Build project. But the question for the Prime Minister today is, what about the hundreds of millions of dollars that Australian taxpayer money that have gone into Big Build projects over which there is now a very clear question mark about corruption? Today, Ben Carroll admitted to at least misogyny, grifting, what was that word, sexism, criminality. And the Prime Minister is now willingly putting Australian taxpayer money into those projects. The question is, what reassurances is the Prime Minister seeking immediately to make sure that Australian taxpayer money is not going into the pockets of crime and corruption and directly into gangland assistance to the CFMEU?
KIERAN GILBERT: It’s a valid question. Andrew Charlton, your response?
ANDREW CHARLTON: Well, the answer to that question is that we welcome this Royal Commission. We will not tolerate any criminal behaviour on work sites. That’s why we welcome the Royal Commission. And that’s why the CFMEU was put into administration in every one of its states.
KIERAN GILBERT: It is sickening, isn’t it? What we’re seeing in terms of the claims that have been made, the criminality, the corruption claims… it is sickening.
ANDREW CHARLTON: Absolutely unacceptable behaviour.
ZOE MCKENZIE: But, Andrew, as Cabinet Secretary, have you brought that forward to the Cabinet to discuss what hundreds of millions of dollars may in fact have ended up shovelled into the wrong hands and the wrong pockets? That’s a responsibility of the Federal Government, to be reassured of the accountability of our taxpayer money, the money of which we are custodians here in Canberra. That needs to go to your Cabinet as soon as possible too.
ANDREW CHARLTON: Absolutely. That is why we welcome this Royal Commission and the scrutiny that it will provide on expenditure in Victoria in these areas. We want to make sure that taxpayer money is spent well and we will not tolerate any criminal behaviour on work sites.
KIERAN GILBERT: No-one is off limits. Nobody and no-one, no organisation. At least, I mean, we have to see and see what’s tabled in the Parliament. But from what you’re hearing in terms of the language, softening or broadening of what corruption means under IBAC…
ZOE MCKENZIE: Yep.
KIERAN GILBERT: …you would welcome that as well?
ZOE MCKENZIE: Well, the question is going to be when they’re actually going to bring that forward to the Parliament. There are very few weeks left between now and when I think their caretaker period starts at the beginning of November. So I suspect it will be a bit of fanfare and some late nights in Victoria, dramatic evenings from Spring Street, whether it actually means any change on the ground between now and the election we will see. Jess Wilson and her team have been on this not just for weeks but months. Months, in fact, since Jess has become leader, she has mentioned this time and time again. Indeed, even down in my electorate when she spent more or less three months down there with the Nepean by-election. So they are very focused on Big Build. They are very focused on who needs to be called before that Royal Commission. And they will be prosecuting to make sure no stone is left unturned between now and the election when, hopefully, they can actually control the terms of reference and, indeed, the work of the Commission and make sure that all the appropriate questions and the accountability is identified.
KIERAN GILBERT: Do you think Zoe is right to have that confidence about the election result? Because surely Victorians will be a bit cynical about this 11th hour conversion in terms of this Royal Commission, which is seriously just three months out from the election.
ANDREW CHARLTON: Well, I mean, the Victorian electorate will make their decision, of course. I would make the point that there is now a Royal Commission going on in Victoria. We have an ICAC process going on in New South Wales. From the Commonwealth’s perspective, it was this Labor government that introduced the Federal Corruption Commission. It was this Prime Minister that introduced a federal corruption watchdog.
KIERAN GILBERT: Is it time [inaudible]? Have public hearings? We haven’t heard anything from them.
ANDREW CHARLTON: It has been called for a long time, Kieran. A long time. The Liberals resisted the introduction of this federal corruption watchdog. It was this Prime Minister that introduced it.
KIERAN GILBERT: Should you give it some teeth, actually, so we know what’s going on?
ANDREW CHARLTON: Well, I mean, I reject the assertion that it doesn’t have teeth. I think it’s been set up very well and set up in a process that delivered it the power that it needs. And it is constantly analysing corruption allegations in the Commonwealth and that is a positive thing in our jurisdiction that was implemented by a Labor government.
ZOE MCKENZIE: And then the Prime Minister should make no more money going to a Labor government that it itself has today admitted is connected to criminality and corruption on building sites in Victoria into which federal government money’s gone.
KIERAN GILBERT: What needs to happen to do that?
ZOE MCKENZIE: The Prime Minister gets on the phone to Ben and says, Ben, no more money. No more money until we have some solutions in this. Right? Or a way forward to make sure that the corrupt elements, the criminal elements, can no longer thrive on these building sites. It is a joke. And the sad thing is we’ve had to work it out via a Royal Commission in… or, sorry, a Commission of Inquiry in Queensland. We’re finding this out because a Queensland Inquiry by the Crisafulli Government is telling us what’s been happening in Victoria for the last couple of years? And the good work of, you know, the Nine media.
KIERAN GILBERT: Also, some very good journalism.
ZOE MCKENZIE: Indeed, by Nick McKenzie.
KIERAN GILBERT: I want to ask you quickly, a minute, quickly, AI. Tell me about it. No, no. You gave a great speech this week and it’s an obviously very complex area. You’ve got responsibility for it. But you spoke about this issue of sovereign capacity in AI. What, in sort of as brief and easy a terms as you can explain it, what do you mean by that?
ANDREW CHARLTON: Well, many Australians over the last few months would have seen the vulnerability in Australia’s economy due to our dependency on foreign oil. We have a war in Iran and suddenly that created a big vulnerability for our economy. And what I said this week was, when you cast forward five years or ten years, we will be as dependent on AI, maybe even more dependent on AI and tokens that are in every one of our businesses, right across government, as we are on oil. And so we have a choice right now. Do we make that AI in Australia, here on our turf, where we control it, where we regulate it, or do we import it from abroad?
KIERAN GILBERT: Can we do that? Have we got the wherewithal to do that?
ANDREW CHARLTON: We have a huge number of national advantages in order to do that. Strength in data centres, strength in energy, 1,500 entrepreneurs working on this right now. We have a choice as a nation and it’s important that we grab it.
KIERAN GILBERT: Do you like the sound of that? Do you support that?
ZOE MCKENZIE: Do you know what I support and celebrate here? Albo has let Charlton off the leash. He’s actually using his brain, which is a beautiful thing, Andrew, to actually lead in an area of policy. If only they’d let you into the Treasury portfolio, my friend, you would be epic, you’d have a great plan for the country, but I’ve got a good one for you right now and I give it to you.
KIERAN GILBERT: You think he should replace Jim?
ZOE MCKENZIE: Yeah, of course I do.
KIERAN GILBERT: OK, let’s…
ZOE MCKENZIE: He’s actually an economist. He’s actually run a business. He’s actually employed people. Get that guy making decisions.
ANDREW CHARLTON: Week in, week out. Like a clock.
KIERAN GILBERT: Yeah. Indeed. Lovely promotion from Zoe. Thank you and catch you next week.
ENDS.
