Transcript - ABC Afternoon Briefing - 22 October 2025

Melissa McIntosh MP
Shadow Minister for Communications
Shadow Minister for Women
Federal Member for Lindsay

22 October 2025

Transcript

ABC Afternoon Briefing with Patricia Karvelas

Topics: Social media age minimum; Trump meeting; Kevin Rudd; net zero; cost of living.

E&OE …

Patricia Karvelas

Melissa McIntosh is the Shadow Communications Minister and one of our regulars on Afternoon Briefing. I spoke to her a short time ago.

Melissa McIntosh, welcome to the program.

Melissa McIntosh

Thank you.

Karvelas

Let's just start on your portfolio on that social media ban that we're still discussing. We are waiting to hear if platforms like Roblox and Reddit will be added to that ban. Do you think they should be?

McIntosh

I think the government needs to make a decision along with the eSafety Commissioner around what's in or out. We are, as you said, just weeks away from the ban coming into effect on the tenth of December and we are seeing abhorrent stories about some of these platforms. But like with Roblox, it's a gaming platform. So, you know, then we've got some messaging platforms that may be in and being asked by the eSafety Commissioner to self-determine whether they're in or out. There is a lot of confusion still and for something so significant around a ban of kids going on to social media, I don't know. I hope it works out for the interests of the kids, and I currently have doubts.

Karvelas

Are the educational resources and the advertisement campaign that they launched about the social media ban in the last week, up to scratch, in your view?

McIntosh

Have you seen it? I don't - I've watched. It didn't really have much power behind it. It was a bit of a glossy sort of brochure type campaign. If that's all that's coming, I don't know how effective it will be. I met with the parents of the children who lost their lives to social media harm and it's really, you know, it's heart wrenching stuff and they with the Prime Minister and when they did, they walked out of that meeting and said that they didn't feel the government was ready and that included ensuring that kids were ready, families were ready, schools were ready and we know it's coming over the school holidays and then the response to the concerns has been just this ad. It's pretty soft.

So, I don't think it's particularly effective. I think a lot more needs to be done if this is the way we're going when we have this quite weak ad campaign. Platforms don't know if they're in or out, weeks out and families are still don't have that much awareness. Well, yeah, I've been raising my concerns for some time now.

Karvelas

I want to move to some other issues that are kind of making the headlines today and the big one of course is in relation to Kevin Rudd and whether he should keep being the US ambassador or the representative for Australia in the US. Sussan Ley, has walked back those comments calling for him to be sacked. Do you back her change in direction?

McIntosh

I said when it first happened, that was pretty embarrassing for Australia. I think we know our relationship with the US is very strong and it is above and beyond the politics of the day. The Prime Minister of the day, the Ambassador of the day. It is the strength in our relationship over many, many years. We've been to wars, our relationship extends even beyond defence, into culture, all sorts of things.

But Kevin Rudd is our representative in America and that was a pretty embarrassing moment. And I support Sussan in walk back her comments. I know that some people are also giving Kevin some credit for the work he's done behind the scenes that has been revealed over the last day or so on the critical minerals work. And that is important work.

Karvelas

Alright, so you think that we should be giving some credit to Kevin Rudd and be, you know, more enthusiastic about that work rather than rebuking?

McIntosh

I don't know. I don't know. I don't know if I said enthusiastic. I acknowledge that it is important work with one of our greatest allies and I haven't been following behind the scenes. There always is a lot of work that goes on to these agreements. It's not something that just happens overnight. Many, many years of work, not just the ambassador, but across many levels of government, bureaucracies, diplomats, to get to such a significant point. And it is a moment for our country.

But we also need to see some of the details. The Prime Minister did walk away from that meeting, and we still have tariffs on steel and aluminium, which has a major impact on our manufacturing industry here. I've got aluminium manufacturers in my electorate, so I'm quite passionate about ensuring that they can continue to keep their doors open.

So, it was a good moment. But I wouldn't say, you know, the Prime Minister and the ambassador should be taking all the credit.

Karvelas

Okay. But this morning your colleague Jane Hume said the remarks by some of your colleagues were churlish to criticise and really get stuck into Rudd. Does Jane Hume have a point?

McIntosh

I'm not going to reflect on Jane. She's her own person, she can - she's a backbencher, she's free to have an opinion. And to be honest, I've been speaking with my community today and it's 40-odd degrees here almost in Penrith and people are really struggling.

So, I've said before, when we, you know, when we're strong in holding the government to account we are a really good Opposition and I'd like us to do that more. We prosecuted the argument against the Government not being strong enough on Optus and Optus letting Australians down because we're really focused on that.

So, my point is focusing on my community, focusing on being a strong Opposition and a few weeks ago I said, anything else that's going on, I'm doing my best to switch off from that.

Karvelas

Okay. Just on another issue, are you nervous about the likely outcome of the Coalition's net zero meeting next Friday in Canberra?

McIntosh

No, not at all nervous. I think it will be really good for us to come together.

I've surveyed my community on our energy future, and I've probably got around 1500 responses back and I'm going through it with my team. But at this stage my community is saying that they are really concerned about net zero by 2050 and the impacts on them. Every – like I think it's probably up to almost 90% of people saying that they are paying more now for their energy and it is impacting their living, and they are struggling. They are absolutely struggling. This is in Western Sydney where people just are trying to do their best. They’re every day Australians struggling under high power prices, questioning net zero by 2050, not particularly wanting us to continue in that direction.

And you might be surprised, maybe not, they're still very open to looking at nuclear as an option in the future. So, once I gather all of that information, I'll you know, I'm very happy to talk about, I'll talk about in party room, but right now it's looking like people are being pretty pragmatic about where they want us to head in the future when it comes to energy.

Karvelas

Okay, one of the proposals is pushing back the deadline of net zero beyond 2050. Is that something that you are sympathetic to as an idea?

McIntosh

I'm going to wait and hold onto that until I've had those discussions with colleagues and with Dan. I haven't talked to him specifically about that point. What I've been doing first and foremost, and I think this is what any local MP should do, is ask your community what they want. That is our job as Members of Parliament, to represent, to be the voice of, to fight for your community. So that's what I've done. I always said I'd hold off on putting out my views until I've got a really strong answer from my community. And once I have that set, and then everyone will know about it, that's for sure.

Karvelas

Melissa McIntosh, always great to speak to you. Thank you.

McIntosh

Thanks, Patricia.