Zoe McKenzie MP
Shadow Cabinet Secretary
Shadow Assistant Minister for Education and Early Learning
Member for Flinders
TRANSCRIPT
TODAY WITH ALISON PIOTROWSKI AND SHANE MCINNES
Tuesday, 6 January 2026
Topics: Nicolás Maduro; recalling federal parliament; Sam Groth
ALISON PIOTROWSKI: Joining us to discuss today’s headlines is Victorian MP Zoe McKenzie and 3AW’s Shane McInnes, both in Melbourne for us this morning. Morning to you both. Zoe, I’ll start with you. Not only has Maduro declared his innocence, he maintains that he is still the legitimate leader, the president of Venezuela. Get your crystal ball out for us. How do you think this plays out with one Donald Trump?
ZOE MCKENZIE: Look, I think this will be a slow process from here insofar as the legal proceedings in the United States will be on foot for a while. My understanding is Maduro won’t reappear in court until March. The Vice President has stepped up in Venezuela, but obviously there will be an ongoing dialogue between the Venezuelan government and, indeed, the United States. Marco Rubio has been very clear to sort of give some indicators of where this will go next and that there will be discussions between the two to make sure that Venezuela can get back onto a path of economic growth and, indeed, political stability. You have to remember that at the 2024 election, 68% of people voted for somebody other than Nicolas Maduro’s government, and yet that’s what they got. So this is a country that’s been vastly lacking in terms of its government’s legitimacy, and it will need to move back to a position of stability and security for the Venezuelan people. Remember, something like 20% of the population has left in the last decade, precisely because of the illegitimacy of the government that has been in place.
ALISON PIOTROWSKI: Shane, I worry about the precedent that Maduro’s capture could set. I mean, if you’re Putin, if you’re Xi and you’re watching this, does it give you the green light to go, hmm, maybe I can go into a country and hedge my bets? What do you think?
SHANE MCINNES: Well, no doubt President Xi would consider that, Ali, especially when it comes to Taiwan. I think you’ve also got to worry about where does Donald Trump go from here? I think there was kind of a mixed response to toppling Maduro, given how his people were living and so much poverty, and you saw the celebrations of so many Venezuelans. But to now discuss Colombia as well, to discuss Greenland too, I think international sentiment will change drastically. We heard Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron come out with regard to Nicolas Maduro and say this is a good thing. He was the illegitimate leader. He was a dictator. It is good that he has been toppled. That isn’t going to be the same response if Donald Trump was to go into Colombia and to try and take over Greenland. So I think we need to… We need to be very careful here of the precedent that this sets. And while so many Venezuelans are celebrating today that Nicolas Maduro is no longer in charge, I think they too are wondering, well, hold on, what’s next? And what is the plan for Donald Trump? Because we know that he can be quite erratic in his decision-making.
ALISON PIOTROWSKI: Look, it certainly made global leaders very, very nervous. Zoe, Jim Chalmers has since challenged the US to, quote, make clear the legal basis of its actions. I thought it was important that he say that, but shouldn’t this message be coming from the Prime Minister?
ZOE MCKENZIE: Indeed. Where is the Prime Minister? I mean, I understand that later on, perhaps today, he will recall Parliament for before Australia Day. Frankly, that’s something we’ve been calling on him to do ever since the tragic murders at Bondi Beach a few weeks ago before Christmas. Remember, the New South Welsh Parliament was able to sit on Christmas Eve. Somehow we were not. It had to take more time. But, yes, where is the Prime Minister? Hopefully we’ll see him today or tomorrow and he’ll tell us what’s going to happen and when we’re going to actually move to implement the hate laws that Australia needs to see immediately.
ALISON PIOTROWSKI: All right, let’s go back home, and I’ll stick with you here, Zoe. Victorian Liberal Deputy Leader Sam Groth sensationally quit politics, declaring he won’t contest the 2026 state election. This, Zoe, just two months after being re-elected deputy under Jess Wilson, I mean, this is not a good look for her.
ZOE MCKENZIE: To be fair, Sam is a really good friend of mine. He’s the state member that represents me, actually, in the Victorian Parliament. And his wife, Britt, and his beautiful boys have been a big feature down on the Mornington Peninsula. He’s been an amazing advocate. He’s been an advocate for everything we need, from the Rosebud Hospital to the Jetty Road overpass and beyond. So I’ve been really lucky to work with him for the last four years. I do understand his decision, although I really wish he was going to stay. He’s such an enormous presence in the Victorian Liberal Parliamentary Party. But I understand why. Last year was a particularly difficult year for him and it was particularly heavy on the family. We always forget, you know, as we say, we’re the ones who stand up and accept this, but it’s the volunteers who are our family that have to go through it with us. And so I understand that from their perspective, enough is enough. And Sam will return to the private sector and thrive there, no doubt. In terms of Jess, I’ve had a couple of conversations with her because obviously we’ve got to get the right candidate now in Nepean for the Liberal Party. It’s a seat that we hold and we must continue to hold. And there are some great potential candidates down on the Mornington Peninsula, people who believe in our small business ethic and the fact that it’s a really resilient community that just wants to get on with life without red tape and regulation getting in everybody’s way. So we’re busy thinking about who might be the best people to represent Nepean in the state parliament. And Jess will lead a unified and strong team to the November election this year.
ALISON PIOTROWSKI: Alright, finally, let’s quickly get to the great beer debate, which has this morning been reignited, guys, with Victorian pubs phasing out pots in favour of schooners. Shane, how are you feeling about this? Are you pot, pint or a schooner man?
SHANE MCINNES: I’m a schooner man, Ali. I like the medium size. The important thing is that it is a pot. It is not a middy, as you have up there. But I think this is great. It gives people a little bit more variety. It used to go from the small size that was the pot all the way up to the pint. There was nothing in between. And now the schooner has made its way to Victoria. Unfortunately, every state in the country calls each of those drinks on screen something different. So good luck ordering if you’re travelling interstate. But I’m a big fan of the schooner.
ALISON PIOTROWSKI: There you go. Alright, Shane, Zoe, thanks so much for your time this morning.
ENDS.
