Interview with Olivia Caisley, ABC News Breakfast

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
RADIO INTERVIEW
ABC NEWS BREAKFAST
WEDNESDAY, 7 JANUARY 2026
 

SUBJECTS: Bondi terror attack; China Beef Safeguard.
 

OLIVIA CAISLEY, HOST: Now, the federal Agriculture Minister Julie Collins, she joins us now from Hobart. Great to see you this morning, Julie. Before we get to your portfolio and biosecurity, I should say, I wanted to ask you about these calls for a Royal Commission. So we’ve seen open letters from the legal fraternity, sporting stars, former Labor leaders and today 32 senior intelligence experts have added their names to those calls. Is the Prime Minister about to change his mind? 

JULIE COLLINS, MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FORESTRY: Good Morning, Liv, to you and to your viewers this morning. Our Government has been very clear from the very beginning that we wanted to move as swiftly as we could in terms of an immediate review particularly of our intelligence and security agencies, which is what we’ve done with Dennis Richardson reviewing that and reporting back by April. We’ve also, of course, brought together National Cabinet very quickly and made sure that our national gun laws and our gun laws across each state and territory are fit for purpose and up to date. We have also done that, and we continue to work with the states and territories on that. We have been, from the very beginning, engaging with the community in terms of hate speech and in making sure that our national laws are fit for purpose and working with states and territories again around that and the community around that. We, of course, have already moved since we’ve been in government to do that, and we know that we need to do more, and we’re working with the community to make sure that we get those laws right. And we’ve also been very clear that once we’re in a position that the community is supportive of those laws and they’ve broadly been tested in the community that we will recall the Federal Parliament. We have also been clear from the beginning that we would cooperate with the New South Wales Royal Commission that was announced by the New South Wales government. We continue to talk to New South Wales about that, and we continue to talk to the community about that. 

CAISLEY: But despite those actions that you’ve outlined, on this question of a Royal Commission, I’m told that a proposal to announce one could be discussed as soon as today. Is Cabinet meeting today? 

COLLINS: Well, obviously I don’t go into those types of discussions that might be held at Cabinet. But what I can say to you is that we have been very clear from the beginning that as a Government our first and primary concern has been making sure that has a Federal Government we do everything that we responsibly can to make sure that we have social cohesion in Australia, to make sure we’re doing everything we can to stamp out anti-semitism and that we can support the community, and that is what we want to do as a government and that has always been our priority. 

CAISLEY: Minister, with respect, impacted families and communities by the Bondi terror attack have described the slowness in terms of calling for a federal Royal Commission as a failure of leadership. How do you reassure them that if, indeed, one is announced in coming days this isn’t a case of just the government really acting only once the pressure became or becomes unavoidable? 

COLLINS: As I said, we have been engaging with the community from the very beginning here. Our primary concern has been about making sure that we listen to the community and that we respond immediately. We’ve done that with the actions that I outlined to your earlier in terms of responding immediately. We do need immediate action. We do need to make sure that our security and intelligence agencies are responding and are fit for purpose and making sure that we get that Dennis Richardson review by April. We’ve also been very clear that we need to make sure and work with the states and territories that our gun laws are fit for purpose. We’ve found obviously, and New South Wales has already legislated changes to that. And making sure that we continue to work with the states and territories around that. 

CAISLEY: Would a royal commission, though, if that is indeed discussed at Cabinet? 

COLLINS: Well, obviously, we will continue to listen and respond, but, importantly, our primary concern here is about making sure that we stamp out anti-semitism and that we as a Federal Government do everybody we responsibly can do to support social cohesion in Australia. 

CAISLEY: Okay. Moving to your portfolio now, Cattle Australia is warning that beef industry – the beef industry, I should say, stands to potentially lose up to $1 billion in beef exports following China’s fresh round of tariffs. Is this a sign really that despite huge improvements in the relationship between Beijing and Canberra that ultimately China will act in their own interests and we could face further tariffs? 

COLLINS: Wel, I’ll start by saying of course we have said that we have serious concerns around what China has announced in terms of its safeguard measure. But I’d also say this is a global measure that’s applying to all countries equally, and this is about China saying that they have an industry locally that they want to protect and so they’re putting a safeguard mechanism on every country. What Australia will continue to do and what we have been doing for the past 12 months or more is working with industry and engaging with the Chinese government and with our counterparts to make sure that we get the best deal for Australia. What I would say is that they have applied this measure equally and consistently across the globe for all of its trading partners. I think that Australian beef is the best in the world, and I think the Chinese market will continue to want Australian beef. And I know that there are other markets across the globe that want to do that. What we’ve done as a government is we’ve diversified our agricultural trade. It’s now the most diversified it has ever been to give Australian primary producers of some of the best product on the globe every opportunity to get into markets right across the globe. 

CAISLEY: Julie Collins, thanks so much for your time this morning. 

COLLINS: Thank you very much.