Transcript - Politics Now with Andrew Clennell on Sky News - 8 September 2025

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

8 September 2025

EO&E …

Interview

Politics Now with Andrew Clennell on Sky News

Topic: Jacinta Nampijinpa Price; Alex Hawke; Indian-Australian community; AI; social media age minimum; eSafety Commissioner; search engine codes; tobacco excise; Kiama state by-election; NSW Liberal Party.

Andrew Clennell

Joining me now is the Shadow Communications Minister and Shadow Minister for Women, Melissa McIntosh. Thanks so much for your time.

Melissa McIntosh

Thank you.

Andrew Clennell

I'm going to have to start, I'm sorry, by asking about this, Alex Hawke-Jacinta Price stouche. I mean, you used to be Alex Hawke's chief of staff, so what do you make of Jacinta Price alleging he has mistreated a female colleague?

Melissa McIntosh

Thanks for having me on. I'm actually glad you started that with that question. There's two separate issues here. So the dealing with the comments that Jacinta made and the allegations around Alex and as a former staff member, someone who's known Alex for 20 years, I have to say I have many issues as a woman in the Liberal Party, and not one of them is around Alex Hawke. He's been a big supporter of mine - helping me into Parliament, and I know he's helped many women. And I can say hand on my heart that he's not one of the issues that we are having within the Liberal Party when it comes to women's representation and the culture inside the Liberal Party, which I'm a very, very loud person on this issue right now.

Andrew Clennell

Do you think he would berate a member of staff as Jacinta Price as alleged?

Melissa McIntosh

Yeah, that's a really strong allegation, and I think that would probably hurt, Alex. Knowing him personally, I haven't seen him behave in that way. I did work for him. I've known for 20 years. I've only ever had positive interactions with him and he supported women. But I can let a - I wasn't part of that conversation, obviously, and I can let Alex stand up for himself.

Andrew Clennell

Look, this is a bit of a mess, isn't it? I mean, this shows the division.

Melissa McIntosh

You started this that.

Andrew Clennell

Well, maybe with my report. Yeah, I did, I guess. But this shows the division in your party at the moment, doesn't it? I mean, you've got you defending one front bencher against another. You are a front bencher. You've got another front bencher on Facebook accusing a guy, basically of being a misogynist. I mean it's not helpful for the Liberal Party at the moment, this sort of thing, this sort of dirty laundry being aired publicly. Do you think Jacinta Price. Should have kept it in house, not put out that post.

Alex Hawke

Well, I go, this is going to the other part of the issue. And in some ways I think both Jacinta and Alex are correct. Jacinta said that she was incorrect in her statement. And she feels that, I believe she feels like she's done what she needs to do and in ensuring that the Indian community knows where she was coming from. From Alex's point of view, he has a strong Indian community. He's a former Minister for Immigration, and he has probably spoken to many people in the Indian community who are very upset by this. Have we asked the Indian community if they feel like they need an apology? Maybe that would be a good next step, because I'm only hearing commentators, the media and politicians talking about issues.

Andrew Clennell

Well, Alex Hawke said again to Laura Jayes today that she should still apologise. Do you think Jacinta Price should’ve given a more fulsome apology?

Melissa McIntosh

I think, as I said, I think it'd be a good time to speak to the Indian community about how they're feeling. I've spoken you'd encourage Jacinta Price to go and speak to the Indian community in Western Sydney. I spoke to, without disclosing my conversation, with Jacinta, I did speak with her today, but one part of that I will tell you is that I believe she'll be spending some time with the Indian community in the near future.

Andrew Clennell

Right, it looks like Sussan Ley didn't contact Jacinta concerning her comments yet. Her power broker did in Alex Hawke. We know that Sussan Ley's not confirming or denying, and I take that she never spoke to her. Was that a mistake as Leader, not to get on the front foot and ring Jacinta and talk through with her?

Melissa McIntosh

That's a question to the leader. On Alex, I believe, if you know, Alex is a pretty strong person, a passionate person about his community. I imagine he probably picked up the phone to Jacinta on his own accord without any other instructions, but those conversations between Jacinta and the leader between them.

Andrew Clennell

Do you know if they've spoken? I don't know if they've spoken. How do you think Sussan Ley's going? Because it feels like she's not only getting fire from Labor, but friendly fire.

Melissa McIntosh

In what regard?

Andrew Clennell

Well, it just feels like there are front benches acting - I guess with a lack of discipline. You've got Andrew Hastie saying, look, you know, putting his position in net zero before it's out Michaelia Cash doing the same. You've got Jacinta Price posting this on Facebook without, you know, ringing the Leader and complaining or having an interaction there. You've just got a lot of kind of things which are not assisting Sussan Ley in her leadership at the moment going on, haven't you?

Melissa McIntosh

Yeah, I could only talk from my point of view and in the Women's portfolio. Sussan was the former Shadow Minister for Women, and we are doing a lot of work at the moment getting out into communities, finding out what went wrong at the election, how we can develop policies that appeal to Australians that we let down last election devastatingly let down. So I think Sussan is right in the process that we are going through to develop policies within the Liberal Party and to make sure everyone has a voice. And I think for the first time, in a long time, it's my understanding that it's a very robust process within the party for policy development for backbenchers to air any concerns they have and to be part of the policy making process.

Andrew Clennell

Well, let's talk now about your portfolio. Social media and the proposed ban on under sixteens - what did you make of the government's age assurance trial results?

Melissa McIntosh

I have some questions about that. I met with the families last week in Parliament who've lost their children to social media harm. And that's a reminder when you meet those families, why we are at this place? It's heart wrenching stuff. It makes me feel emotional just thinking about what they've been through. And they asked me to promise that I'll do everything I can to hold the government to account and making sure that this works. And that's the question now: is this going to work? There's question marks around the trial and the technology that will be used. And I even questioned within the report that was put out during the week, it said if there's certain measures that don't seem to work and this is the sort of summary of it, then digital ID, some form of digital ID may need to be used to verify somebody's age. We didn't agree to that. So there's question marks around the technology and whether the technology is going to be robust enough. And there's also other question marks around the effectiveness of the ban. There's no public education campaign at the moment. Parents don't know this is coming.

Andrew Clennell

Right.

Melissa McIntosh

Kids don't know this is coming.

Andrew Clennell

This is one time you advocate for government advertising, I guess.

Melissa McIntosh

Well, when you purely put it in the lens of protecting Australian children and we committed to this. This was a Peter Dutton policy, then we need to make sure the government is doing everything they can in their power to get this right.

Andrew Clennell

That's a good point you make, it was a Peter Dutton policy. I assume you supported it at the time. What was your vision then of how it would be implemented? Because how do you do it without what is going to cause some community concern? That's big tech. Getting our data, our biometric data potentially.

Melissa McIntosh

Yeah, I have to note that I was not the Shadow Communications Minister at the time.

Andrew Clennell

I do understand.

Melissa McIntosh

I believed in the intent of the policy

Andrew Clennell

Right.

Melissa McIntosh

Around protecting Australian children as things have rolled out and as more information has come to light, including the power, which I probably didn't realise until I came into this portfolio, the power that an unelected official in the eSafety Commissioner has on all of this. I think that it's time. And this was made - this was a government, a Coalition government policy and position. I think it's time that we re-look at that. Times are changed. But on this particular issue, there's concerns around you know, adults should have the choice - you know, we don't want to use digital ID. But we want to protect our children. It’s such a fine balance, but such an important balance. How else could you police it? How else could you implement it?

Andrew Clennell

I guess that's my question. And if this is the only way where we as adults potentially have to pull some sort of ID to big tech, could you see a situation where the Coalition end up opposing it in the form that it's taking the band?

Melissa McIntosh

Well, we are going to have to really strongly be across the details all the way through. So if there's any infringement on privacy, then we need to be aware of it. But it just - as we're talking, just going back to those parents who came to Parliament, who have lost their children, who are begging, ‘please make this work for our kids so no other children die because of social media harm’. Then we have a responsibility to see it through now.

Andrew Clennell

Do they have a view on the privacy element. Their view probably is look tough luck. No, they never were, when I spoke to them, it wasn't about that. They want to ensure that the children know this ban is coming, that parents knowing it's happening just around school, holiday time at Christmas.

Andrew Clennell

December 10, right?

Melissa McIntosh

And then how if parents aren't aware it's happening, kids are no longer without - being able to be on social media. And I think that the government's got a responsibility to make sure people are aware and that this works for the families.

Andrew Clennell

I'm predicting you and Anika Wells have very busy summers ahead. I wouldn't be planning any holidays.

Melissa McIntosh

I'll just be on the case now.

Andrew Clennell

Do you have a view of the late inclusion of YouTube accounts in the ban?

Melissa McIntosh

Yeah, I would've liked to have seen YouTube looked at in a different way. I had many conversations with YouTube. My concerns around YouTube and kids not being, not having accounts is when you've got an account, there is some form of protection. So kids now searching whatever they like without being protected at all.

Andrew Clennell

Right.

Melissa McIntosh

On YouTube, I do have concerns and I know YouTube was willing to work with us as a Coalition on finding some other ways.

Andrew Clennell

What's going on with this? A month ago, the Coalition voted in the Senate to recognise the eSafety Commissioner’s remit has exceeded what Australians would deem as reasonable. I'm quoting from your press release:

… this was because the eSafety Commissioner registered an internet search engine service. Online safety code requiring Google and other engines to require every individual to have an account before they can freely use a search engine.

Take us through this.

Melissa McIntosh

Yeah, so this is around every Australian needing to have an account with a Google account or whatever account it is to go onto the internet to be able to search. And if you don't have an account, certain search options won't be shown. And this is what made me start questioning the powers of an unelected official. And I'm not saying that she's not doing a good job. This is not about that. We gave the eSafety Commissioner those powers, what 10 years ago before all of this. And the world has changed. I would like us to have some sort of investigation inquiry into the powers the eSafety Commissioner, and whether it's fit for purpose as things move along. We've got AI coming on now. Which scares every single parent in this country about what that's going to do. The opportunities and also the risks and, and what does this mean in protecting our children from AI bots into the future. So there's many elements to that comment that I made around the eSafety Commissioner.

Andrew Clennell

So, do you have confidence in Julie Inman Grant?

Melissa McIntosh

It's nothing personal. I think that she's got a very important job to do. I just want to make sure that the powers she has are the powers that she should have.

Andrew Clennell

Just quickly, because I'm nearly out of time. What do you make of Chris Minn's comments on tobacco excise?

Melissa McIntosh

Yeah, I think we're at a real risk of a real failure of social policy and health policy in this country and health policy being caught up in criminal policy like and how we protect Australians. And it's obviously out of control right now. The intent of taxing tobacco is now leading to something much more sinister, and I think the Albanese Labor Government really needs to get across this and start speaking to the Premiers and working out a future for taxation of tobacco. And also what are we going do to stop this?

Andrew Clennell

And very briefly, it is a tough time for New South Wales Liberals. You would've heard my report that Labor might win Kiama. What do you make of that and what's the way back for the New South Wales Liberal Party?

Melissa McIntosh

Yeah, I would love for us to be able to take time aback, but the way back for the New South Wales Liberal Party is like any good member, and that's to be really community oriented, only focused on the community issues. And I believe that our candidate there is a great local, a lot of volunteer work, has been on council. So Right candidate. But it has been a very terrible time that we've had in that particular area with a former Liberal. And, you know, I hope we can win it, but I've been in a contest where there's 10 candidates and it fractures the vote as well. And having what 13 odd candidates is going to be tough.

Andrew Clennell

Melissa McIntosh, thanks so much for your time.

Melissa McIntosh

Thank you.