Steve Price:
Okay. Joining me now, IPA Chief Economist Adam Creighton and former Liberal Senator, now One Nation member, Hollie Hughes and pub owner, of course. Welcome to you both. I’m going to start with you, Hollie. You’re a One Nation member now. Why would Pauline, or if not her, the party, pick a fight with an SAS commander?
Hollie Hughes:
Look, I actually re-watched the cartoon this morning because it’s been out now in excess of a month. And the trade reference that was made was in regards to the free speech legislation that Andrew was very strong that he was going to oppose and then voted for. I mean, look, I just think in a satirical campaign cartoon, if you don’t want people to watch it, don’t draw attention to it a month after it’s been released. But the other point that I’d like to make, and this is what is happening on the reality in the ground, the electorate is angry and they are angry at Albanese and his government and the lies and the dropping standard of living. And quite frankly, if you are a non-Labour MP and your priority is not defeating Labour, then you’re in the wrong game.
And the fact that there are some within the Liberal Party at a federal level who are still absolutely obsessed, especially One Nation around the place, their eye is on the wrong ball. This is the problem here because they are going to enable potentially Albanese to skate in for a third term because if every, and I’ll say it again, if every non-Labour MP is not focused on defeating Labour and wants to pick fights with other parties, then they’re missing the point.
Steve Price:
It was a mistake though, surely. I mean, someone should have picked it up. I mean, Adam, whoever, and I know the people who make that satirical cartoon, they’re very popular and one of them appears on Chris Kenny’s show on a regular basis, surely someone in the leadership group could have said, “Well, should we really be calling a war hero a traitor?”
Adam Creighton:
Well, look, that’s probably right, but I broadly think Hollie’s right that I don’t think this will do too much damage to One Nation. I mean, look, it was mentioned eight times, the word traitor. These are popular cartoons. It’s been out for a month, as she said. If it was genuinely very offensive, surely he would’ve called it out right away. But then again, I can understand why Andrew Hastie personally would be very upset by being called a traitor as anyone would be. But then again, this sort of language, harsh language is used by ordinary people down at the pub on Friday and Saturday night all the time, far worse than that, and it’s just let go. I don’t think this is helping either side, this stoush. I think it’s taking up far more media attention than it should be.
So look, was it a mistake? I mean, should someone have picked up? The One Nation team is very small. As I pointed out in a viral tweet recently, I think the total One Nation staff is four, just at least in terms of taxpayer funded compared to about 492 for the government. So there are fewer people to cast their eyes over these things. And it’s a satirical cartoon in the style of South Park or Family Guy or something like that. I mean, I just don’t think it’s a big issue, but maybe my skin is just very thick because during COVID I was called a murderer multiple times. So I was used to that.
Hollie Hughes:
Can I-
Steve Price:
Yeah, we all have-
Hollie Hughes:
Lidia Thorpe-
Steve Price:
Yeah. Go ahead.
Hollie Hughes:
… actually gave her family copies of the photos of One Nation when they developed the very, very funny, and I can say this because Lidia said to me how hilarious they are and I’ve sent them to my family and they’ve all got them on their cars of the cartoons that made fun of Lidia Thorpe. And that was probably a lot more and probably if you have thin skin it’s more offensive, but Lidia saw that it was satirical, funny, and her family had them stuck on their cars.
Steve Price:
Yeah, I would just say that Barnaby looked shocked tonight. He looked shell shocked. He was a very tame Barnaby. Maybe he’s had a hard day and he’s tired, but I should say that we can’t downplay the war service of Hastie, Andrew Hastie. We have to all thank him for what he did. He went to Afghanistan, he suited up, put his life at risk. I just think, and Adam, you and I have been in the media a long time, you’ve got to have a better radar than that. And I’ve said over and over and over again when I talk about One Nation and their surge in popularity is quite understandable, but they have these candidates and we’ll get onto Warren Pickering in a moment, and when they choose these people, they don’t have the staff, you make the point, but they have a potential to blow themselves up.
Hollie Hughes:
Warren Pickering was in the Defence Force. Are we ignoring that now because it’s not convenient?
Steve Price:
What’s that?
Adam Creighton:
And look, I think Steve-
Hollie Hughes:
Warren Pickering served in the Defence Force, so are we ignoring his service?
Steve Price:
Yeah. Well, no. Well, let’s get to Pickering. I mean, this is a guy obviously who turned his life around. And Adam, I think all Australians like to see a story where somebody is in a bad place and they come out a better person. I’ve interviewed Pickering on my Friday show and he comes across as pretty impressive. But once upon a time, go back a few decades, Adam, how could you possibly be a political candidate and then get up and confess to using heavy drugs, amphetamines? I mean, the world has changed.
Adam Creighton:
Yeah. Well look, I think it’s a more honest world now. And I think all the journalists and politicians who are tut-tutting over his behaviour, they’d probably have dubious things in their own past that they wouldn’t like to be broadcast to the whole world. And I think it started out as a very bad story, but as you suggested earlier, I think the response to it by Pauline and especially James Ashby has been a real masterclass really in political response. They’ve turned it into a positive story. And I think there are so many Australians out there, millions I would say, who’ve done terrible things, who regret them, and some have turned their lives around and some haven’t. And those who have turned their lives around, people are proud of and they’re shiny examples. I mean, wouldn’t you rather have people in parliament who understand the ravages and damages of temptation in youth than have people who are born with silver spoons in their mouth who have no idea?
So I think this could end up a positive story. And just like you, I don’t think it’s really going to affect the primary vote. And in terms of the poll that I think we’re just about to talk about, it certainly has not.
Steve Price:
I’ve got to give the gold medal of question asking today to Reuben Spargo from News 24. Kevin Rudd, and I watched the Press Club appearance by, he insists on being called Dr. Kevin Rudd. So Dr. Rudd’s up there and Reuben Spargo stands up and asks this question, which I thought was delightful.
Kevin Rudd:
Last time I looked, all politicians were human, some more human than others. Because they’re human, they have frailties and failures. We simply don’t need to have a reasonable attitude to bring to bear, a common sense attitude to bring to bear and ask ourselves this question, is the matter at stake fundamentally compromising of the person’s ability to discharge effectively their public responsibilities? That’s where the issue lies.
Steve Price:
Sadly, we cut Reuben’s question, which was, “Dr. Rudd, you were once caught in a strip club in New York.” And that’s why he starts talking about human frailties. Hollie, over to you.
Hollie Hughes:
Look, we actually were talking about in the front bar tonight that Kevin Rudd being caught in a strip bar made him seem slightly more human.
Adam Creighton:
It did.
Hollie Hughes:
And I’ve got to say though, that wooden response he gave really takes us back to why we didn’t think he was human in the first place. But look, I think the story of redemption, being human, I mean, are we going to say to our kids in their 20s, “Listen, you’ve stuffed up, you’ve done this. Now go hide in a cave for the rest of your life because you’re no good to anyone anymore”? And the reality is more and more kids coming through in their 20s and 30s now have had so much of their lives on social media. They’re all going to know. I’m very pleased there’s very little, if any, footage of me dancing on a podium in my 20s, but may or may not have happened.
Adam Creighton:
Yes, me too, Hollie. Yes, definitely.
Hollie Hughes:
May have been at the same club, Adam.
Steve Price:
Gee. I’m glad they didn’t have mobile phones when I was 25. I want to talk quickly about golf. I played a few courses in Sydney, sadly not Marrickville. The prime minister though, Adam, is desperately trying to laugh off a $6 million grant to what to me looks like a busted down goat track, not a golf course. And he has such a glass jaw about these things. Came up in question time again today. Have a look.
Dan Tehan:
How did the Daily Telegraph know in 2019 you remember and you didn’t?
Anthony Albanese:
In 2019, the Marrickville golf course was not in my electorate. It was actually in the electorate of Barton between 2016 and 2025.
Steve Price:
Adam, I don’t know if you caught Peta Credlin tonight, but she had extraordinary detail about the number of times that the prime minister had actually appeared at this golf club. He actually originally, 10 years ago when he was opposition leader or in opposition, they tried to raise $300,000 for the golf club. He’s described as their most powerful patron and he owns real estate not far from that golf course. And there he is trying to say, “I don’t have a card. It costs $5. Nothing to see here.” Here we go again, Adam.
Adam Creighton:
No, look, it certainly sounds like misuse of taxpayers’ money to me and the double standard is just extraordinary. I think Bridget McKenzie had to resign over a similar situation over just $36,000. And to her great credit, she did resign. By that standard, the prime minister should also resign as I understand the facts. But the broader constitutional point is federal government shouldn’t be doing this sort of nonsense anyway. It’s got nothing to do with the federal government. It’s a state government, local government responsibility, and this sort of stuff just ruins the whole constitution, frankly. But the political point, it just reinforces people’s cynicism of the uniparty, if you like, the political class. I think Hollie will like I said that.
Hollie Hughes:
I love that.
Steve Price:
I mean, Hollie, this is classical Albanese. He does it all the time.
Hollie Hughes:
Mate, if the Labour Party didn’t have double standards, they wouldn’t have any standards at all. And this prime minister is a prime example of an out and out hypocrite. I read in the paper today that he may have actually lost two games whilst he won the match against that guy that fought him at the at the Winter Ball. He can’t even tell the truth about a bloody tennis match.
Steve Price:
That can’t be true, can it?
Hollie Hughes:
Well, this guy said-
Steve Price:
That can’t be true, can it?
Hollie Hughes:
He got trounced, but he said he won two games in one set. If that turns out to be true, not that Albanese had let him have a witness. I mean, seriously, if you can’t even admit a tennis score in a friendly match, what else can we expect for this guy who didn’t fall off the stage, who promised Australians $275,000, who was only talking about fruit? Seriously.
Steve Price:
Adam, Hollie, thank you very much for that. Appreciate it. Good luck with the pub, Hollie. I must drop in there for a beer one day-
This transcript with Adam Creighton talking on Sharri – News24 from 10 September 2026 has been edited for clarity.
