Transcript - Sky News with Kieran Gilbert - 25 July 2025

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

25 July 2025

Subject: Parliament returns; net zero; social media age minimum. 

Sky News NewsDay with Kieran Gilbert 

Kieran Gilbert

Joining me is the Liberal Front Bencher, the Shadow Minister for Communications and Women, Melissa McIntosh. Melissa, thanks for your time. First of all, let's just start with the broader, the Parliament. You’re one of few women representing the Liberal Party. It is quite the task you've got ahead of you, and Sussan Ley and the rest of your leadership team to try and rebuild right now as you see the numbers in the Parliament with just 43 seats remaining for the Coalition.

Melissa McIntosh

I think we can't have our heads in the sand. It is quite obvious that the Australian people had their say at the last election, and you can feel it in the House. The government certainly does have the majority. It's pretty light on, on our side. But even though the climb is momentous, we're ready to go. We're ready to hold the government to account. There are still millions of Australians who did vote for us. Already this week we've been pressing the government on what it seems to be a tax on Australian superannuation savings. I know that many thousands of Australians wouldn't have thought that was coming. So this is, you know, day two into question time. There are already questions around the government's transparency, around the government's commitments and promises to the Australian people.

Kieran Gilbert

That makes sense to unify behind that issue because everyone in the Coalition can agree on that one. And, and as I say, that made sense in terms of the strategy. But it must be frustrating to Sussan Ley as she's trying to establish her presence as Opposition Leader to have some of the National Party kicking up a stink over net zero.

Melissa McIntosh

It wouldn't the Coalition if there wasn't some theatre and drama. Susan's a very experienced politician. She's been here a long time. She's worked with the Nats for a long time. It's probably not all that unexpected and that's their right. And that's part of the beauty of the Coalition is what it’s developed some really wonderful policies.

Kieran Gilbert

Do you feel that she's helped? Obviously, as we say, it's a tough climb. You've got a huge battle ahead of you to try and rebuild. But do you feel that this first week has helped shore up her authority within the party, her position, Sussan Ley?

Melissa McIntosh

We had a democratic process, and I think that vote shored up her authority. Getting into Parliament now, it's been a long wait, for us, for the government to bring back Parliament has enabled us to start prosecuting some of what we are seeing are policy gaps or potential broken promises even in my own policy area. We're waiting on the government to release details, particularly around the social media ban that's coming up.

Kieran Gilbert

Yeah, so, on that, let's, pick up on that because I do want to focus on this as Shadow Communications. The legislation passed Parliament before the election.

Melissa McIntosh

Yeah.

Kieran Gilbert

But your concern is that parents don't know what platforms, whether it be a YouTube or whatever else is included within that social media ban. Is that not clarified yet?

Melissa McIntosh

Yeah, that's right and we need to remember the intent of this policy and it's around protecting Australian kids, and we can talk about what's in or out and some people get really quite worked up about this. But first and foremost, we need our kids who are being bullied, who are exposed to really inappropriate content to be protected because something isn't working. But we don't know right now, we're waiting.

Kieran Gilbert

Has the government given, given us a a sense of when that might be coming? The clarity on that?

Melissa McIntosh

We are hearing in the corridors sometime soon. There's a deadline for the tenth of December that platforms will have to have made reasonable steps to put those bans in place. But we don't know which platforms. We don't know what platforms need to do. There's a lot of unknowns.

Kieran Gilbert

And, just finally as a Shadow Minister for Women.

Melissa McIntosh

Yep.

Kieran Gilbert

The optics of having a female leader, do you think that that in itself is a way to get people to start to, or women particularly, to open their minds to the Coalition, the Liberal Party once again?

Melissa McIntosh

It's a step in the right direction. But Sussan got there on her own merit. It's going to be up to us to listen to Australian women, to listen to families and develop policies that appeal to Australians, not just women. But we obviously lost the election for a reason. So right across the board will be reflecting on that and doing some really hard yakka work on developing effective policies and holding the government to account as a good Opposition.

Kieran Gilbert

Well, given that you are one of the few Liberals in an urban seat, albeit an outer urban seat still, Lindsay is part of Sydney and I guess they'll be listening to you as part of that rebuild. Melissa McIntosh, I thank you as always for your time.