TRANSCRIPT - ABC RADIO AM - TUESDAY, 20 OCTOBER 2026

E&OE TRANSCRIPT

RADIO INTERVIEW

ABC AM

TUESDAY, 20 SEPTEMBER 2026

SUBJECTS: HELEN HAINES

ISABELLA HIGGINS: Good morning, Minister. Thank you very much for joining us on AM. Are you able to give us any update on the suspect or this investigation?

TONY BURKE: The suspect will be interviewed today by police and police will have more to say later today. They haven't decided to release the suspect's name yet, and so I'll leave that as a decision for police. Obviously, all our thoughts are with Helen, who remains in a critical but stable condition.

HIGGINS: Everyone is so shocked about this attack on Helen Haines. The question is, could more have been done to protect her?

BURKE: Look, if I start with the description, which no one will want to hear, but just so that people understand what happened at 3.30 yesterday. What witnesses have described is the driver doing a U turn to get into the car park and to ram Helen against her vehicle. Then to reverse and do it a second time. A bystander ran towards the scene, got the driver out of the vehicle and held the driver until police arrived. And I think every Australian is grateful for those moments when a hero like this runs towards the most dangerous place. The actions of that individual, I can't begin to say how much everyone would appreciate that. In terms of all the questions of what more could have been done, in terms of being able to keep someone safe from this particular sort of attack is something that, of course, all the agencies and everyone will be working through and working through in earnest. We already knew that we needed to do more to be able to keep people in public office safe, and we have been. While we don't make public the dollar figures and the exact provision of security, for obvious reasons, because that provides information for people that want to get past it, but we had a very significant uplift in the budget and we needed to, for the very simple reason, there is a, you know, without commenting on this case, there is a direct line between the temperature of debate and things that people are willing to say, and then when people are willing to take action.

HIGGINS: Minister, you've described a really, really horrifying attack. Were you aware of any credible threats against Helen Haines before this happened?

BURKE: In terms of the people who.. look… everyone in public office carries a level of risk now, everyone. It's also the case in terms of when you go through the different scale of who we would have thought was the most at risk, no one would have thought Helen Haines,

HIGGINS: As you say, no one was expecting this. Is this a new age of political violence? Is it time to review the security arrangements for politicians immediately?

BURKE: Well, as I said, that's what we, that's what we do. And that's what we'd only just done in the last budget as well. To continue the uplift, we've continued the further security briefings for members of Parliament and I've spoken to members of the Labor Caucus, the Prime Minister's office had been talking to the crossbench last night and I've also spoken to the Shadow Minister, Senator Duniam, about organising further briefings for members of Parliament. I'll be working out how we do that with the Police Commissioner, Krissy Barrett, later on today.

HIGGINS: You've said that there's more money there, but do you think your fellow politicians are wanting some immediate action right now, really looking at who's getting protection when they're getting protection?

BURKE: There's no doubt about that. Everybody looks at that and thinks, If it was Helen, it could have been me. Like, everyone is aware of that. But all our thoughts right now, all our thoughts are with Helen. To give people, you know, a level of assurance because the United Kingdom had been dealing with some vicious attacks against current and former members of Parliament. I've had repeated conversations and briefings from the Home Secretary in the UK, Shabana Mahmoud, where we've worked together in terms of what they've done on their uplift and seen how we can emulate that in Australia. So, both things are true. The first thing is we have needed to progressively and continuously increase protection for people in public office, and we've been doing that. But secondly, after an attack like this, of course, everybody is now working back through the facts, working back through the information and trying to work through what more can be done. But I wouldn't want to create an impression that we haven't been doing a continuous uplift as the temperature's been rising. We have been. And it is also the case that everything anyone can do to take the temperature down is something that needs to happen. I get briefed on the different charges that get laid against people in particular who make threats on social media against people in public office. There is a very strange capacity that has started to develop of people being willing to make some of the most ugly and brutal comments and threats online, and no one should pretend that that doesn't add to the temperature. Now, that's not to go to this specific case, and I leave it to the police as they work through issues of motivation on this. But regardless of everything we're dealing with right now, it is also the case that the general environment continues to become higher and higher risk.

HIGGINS: Do you think anything could have been done to prevent this attack?

BURKE: That's something that I'll leave to the Federal Police in terms of their work. I mean, I've spoken repeatedly last night to the Australian Federal Police. I have more briefings today and I've been talking to Mike Burgess, the Director-General of ASIO as well. We will work through everything to see if there's anything we possibly could have done. But, yeah, part of why I gave… and no one, you know, it's confronting to hear exactly what happened yesterday. But I think it's important for people to have an understanding of the specifics because in terms of what we are actually dealing with, with what happened yesterday.

HIGGINS: Minister, I can hear the emotion in your voice. Are you personally scared?

BURKE: Every Member of Parliament is aware of the risk. And obviously, as Minister for Home Affairs, I'm briefed on the risks that apply both for every Member of Parliament and have a very clear understanding of what attaches to jobs like my own and other jobs. One of the things that Australia has always had, which is wonderful, has been a country where our Members of Parliament move among the community in a way that is unusual in the world. Every time, every time I'm in a shopping centre or anything like that, people have often remarked in other countries, you don't see that, it will be a terrible thing if we lose that in Australia. I now have to go. I'm sorry, Isabella.

HIGGINS: Not a problem. Thank you for your time, Minister.