TRANSCRIPT - CH9 TODAY SHOW WITH SAMANTHA ARMYTAGE - WEDNESDAY, 24 DECEMBER 2025

E&OE TRANSCRIPT

TELEVISION INTERVIEW

CHANNEL 9 TODAY, SAMANTHA ARMYTAGE

WEDNESDAY, 24 DECEMBER 2025

SUBJECTS: National Hate Crimes Database, Richardson Inquiry, Commonwealth Royal Commission into Bondi attack

SAMANTHA ARMYTAGE: The Federal Government has this morning launched a new database to tackle the rise of antisemitism and other hate crimes in our country. It comes as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese faces increased criticism over Labor's handling of the Bondi terror attack.

For more, we are joined by Home Affairs Minister, Tony Burke, in Sydney. Minister, good morning to you.

TONY BURKE: Good morning.

ARMYTAGE: National Cabinet agreed to develop this database back in January this year; you've announced it today. How exactly will it work and why has it taken this long to implement?

BURKE: One of the challenges in getting this up and running is the offences are slightly different in each state, and so the work's had to be done to effectively codify sentences that were similar enough, but effectively what we have now, and what's now live is a tool which allows us over time to be able to see exactly what's working, what's not, and to be able to look at the effectiveness of different forms of hate crimes legislation. There's a whole lot that's being done across jurisdictions, the states in some ways have more powers over some of this than we do, but there are areas of specific federal power which we're acting on as well, but that tool is now available, it's now online. Of course, you know, if you had identical offences, then this probably would have been up a few months ago, but when the offences weren't identical, we needed to work through with the States to be able to get it up and running.

ARMYTAGE: Don't we already know where much of the hate speech and the hate preaching is coming from?

BURKE: Oh, absolutely. And that's why the new laws that we're putting in place are so important. We'd already legislated for hate crimes, against hate symbols and some against hate speech, but we're now increasing all of that, and also upping the powers that I'll have to be able to cancel visas.

You might have seen on the front page of the Nine papers today there's another one that's been cancelled now against one of the Nazis who's been just dedicating himself in different ways to anti‑Jewish hatred.

If someone comes on a visa, they are a guest in our country, and I have no time whatsoever for people who come here to hate. If their reason for coming here is to hate, then they can leave, and I want to maximise the powers that I have to be able to deal with that.

ARMYTAGE: The government has spent a lot of time talking about Neo‑Nazis in the last week or so, but we've really focused on the re‑emergence, it seems, of ISIS at the moment in Australia. The Prime Minister's facing mounting pressure to launch a Federal Royal Commission into the Bondi terror attack, Australia's worst ever terrorist attack. What's actually stopping the PM from heeding these calls? 

BURKE: Look, I understand why people are making those calls, and New South Wales will have a Royal Commission, and we'll be cooperating with that, so that will happen.

But we have a real sense of urgency in making sure that whatever recommendations need to be made to improve community safety and to improve the operation of our national security agencies, that we get that information quickly.

A Royal Commission, New South Wales will have one, it will play a role. It will take a long time before it comes back with recommendations. We can't wait for that. That's why Dennis Richardson will be heading up the inquiry, that's the federal one that we're putting our efforts behind to make sure that we've got recommendations in April.

We need to be able to act as quickly as we possibly can with our security agencies to make sure that anything that has been missed or anything where our systems can be improved, where information sharing can be more effective, where we can potentially connect information across jurisdictions, that we get those recommendations and we act quickly.

A Royal Commission that New South Wales will do will operate on a different timeline; we'll cooperate with that. But there is an absolute urgency, which I think every one of your viewers understands, in wanting to make sure that we have a process which Dennis Richardson will lead, which makes sure that we get these recommendations quickly.

ARMYTAGE: However, Minister, a state‑based Commission won't have as far-ranging powers as a Federal one would, which this continued resistance by the Federal Government to call a Federal Royal Commission has a lot of Australians wondering what the government knows and what they don't ‑ what you don't want us to know.

BURKE: Everything in terms of what happened, checking whether anything was missed, all of those issues, as well as making sure we get recommendations being brought to us as to what can be improved are all part of Dennis Richardson's inquiry.

What we also though have said, with respect to New South Wales is we'll cooperate with that. So we'll cooperate with that. But I think you understand the sense of urgency that we feel in making sure that there is a process which gives us recommendations quickly.

Where we know, and for information that we already have, we're not even waiting for the inquiry. So that's why the legislation that deals with both the motivation and the method of the horrific terrorist crime that took place a couple of Sundays ago, that we have legislation that we are developing right now to deal with that.

On the motivation, that's why we've got the new laws to increase visa powers, to be able to deal with hate crimes, hate symbols and hate speeches, criminal matters, but also to be able to look at the method that was used.

It should not be the case, not all your viewers will know Bonnyrigg, but anyone from Sydney, no one can come up with a plausible reason as to why someone living in suburban Bonnyrigg in Sydney had six firearms.

People will also say, if you weren't even an Australian citizen, how on earth was it possible for you to be able to get a gun licence? These issues can be acted on quickly. We're dealing with that in the immediate term. As soon as that legislation is ready, we want to be able to put it through Parliament, then we'll have by April the Richardson Inquiry, the Royal Commission that New South Wales are having, we'll cooperate with.

ARMYTAGE: There are so many questions here, Minister, and they are not going away in 2026, I tell you what. Tony Burke, we thank you for your time today.

BURKE: Couldn't agree more. Thank you.