TED O’BRIEN MP
SHADOW MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS
FEDERAL MEMBER FOR FAIRFAX
TRANSCRIPT
ABC RADIO
INTERVIEW WITH SALLY SARA, RN BREAKFAST
Monday, 11 May 2026
Topics: Farrer by-election
E&OE…………………………………………………………………………………………
Sally Sara
Ted O'Brien holds one of the regional Liberal seats that Pauline Hanson has vowed to target. Ted O'Brien is also the Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs. Welcome back to breakfast.
Ted O'Brien
Thanks very much, Sally, great to be with you.
Sally Sara
What are the lessons that the Liberal Party is taking from this result in Farrer?
Ted O'Brien
Well, I think from the outset, can I say congratulations to David Farley, who's the One Nation candidate and soon to be sworn in member, and also a very big thank you and well done to Raissa Butkowski , who was the Liberal candidate. The people have spoken Sally, and that has to be respected. The will of the people always has to be, but of course, we need to also learn some lessons from this, and lessons will be learned, and we'll be having lots of those discussions in the week ahead.
Sally Sara
What are those lessons?
Ted O'Brien
Well, I think the main thing here is that the Australian people look at the system at the moment and they think it's broken. If I think of the some of the towns in my own electorate, you walk down the street and there are empty shops. There are closing down signs. You have everyday hard working Australians just struggling to make ends meet. They don't think the economy is working for them. Real wages are going down. Businesses are going insolvent. You have everything from live music venues to everyday cafes closing their doors because Australians simply can't pay for things. Inflation is just going ballistic at the moment, and of course, we know the impact of interest rates. Now, these are the things that are affecting everyday Australians. I believe Labor is making the situation worse. I think One Nation is doing a good job of amplifying the problems, but it will only be the Liberals and the Nationals who have the capacity to fix it. Our job, though, is to persuade the Australian people that we have the right plan to do so.
Sally Sara
The Coalition has changed leaders twice since the last election. Electorally, have you gone backwards or forwards do you think?
Ted O'Brien
Look, I don't think it's all about leadership and leadership changes. There is clearly a very broad movement afoot, not just in Australia, but globally. What we need to do as a political party is to ensure that we are presenting the policies for the times. Those policies are being developed. Some of them are already out the door. We need to keep focused on the problem to solve here. If you, if you define the wrong problem to solve, you're in trouble. And the problem is not Pauline. The problem is the direction of our country, people are becoming poorer. As a nation, we're becoming more divided. Our economy is becoming weaker. Our job is to save the country from becoming worse under the Albanese government. If we focus on that and focus on policy, then I do believe the politics follows.
Sally Sara
That hasn't proved to be the case so far. Why do you think the electorate in Farrer didn't have confidence in either a Liberal or National candidate to get that done?
Ted O'Brien
Well, of course, Labor weren't in the fight, and it would have been interesting to see how the people in Farrer may have sent them a message. But in their absence, of course, there's no doubt that as the alternate parties of government, we got a kicking. And that just says to me that we need to be even more focused on solving the problems. And that is the problems that are hurting the Australian people. For the everyday Australian, I think they see the system as being broken. It needs to be fixed, and only a Coalition can fix it.
Sally Sara
Is the Coalition going into some sort of coalition with the Liberal Party. Is that something that you would accept, or is it something that the Liberal Party should rule out?
Ted O'Brien
Sally, I think you're asking whether or not we might go into a coalition with one nation. Is that right?
Sally Sara
That's right. Yes, sorry.
Ted O'Brien
No, no, all good. Look, we have no plans for going into a coalition with One Nation again, if we focus on the Australian people, if we focus on developing substantive policy, if we focus on removing this very poor Albanese government, that puts us in good stead. So, you know, I'm personally not looking around at any major structural change trying to engage with One Nation under some formal coalition. It's the Liberal National parties that have been able to get Australia away from economic decline previously. It's all about the economy. That's our strength. I think the Australian people know that, but they need to be convinced that we're ready for that, and that's our challenge over the months and probably 18 months ahead.
Sally Sara
So, should any coalition between the Liberal Party and One Nation. Should that be ruled out completely?
Ted O'Brien
Look, I don't believe in preemptively ruling things in or out, but the point being, it's not on the table. I don't think it needs to be on the table. And that's no disrespect to One Nation. It's no disrespect for people who vote for one nation. It is a matter of saying who is best placed to return Australia to being a prosperous country instead of a poorer one? And well, that's the Coalition. We've done it before, but we do have a long way to go to persuade the Australian people that we're up for the task. We need to meet that challenge.
Sally Sara
Just briefly. Are you concerned that any other members of the Coalition may want to defect to One Nation.
Ted O'Brien
Look, I'm not. Because I think Coalition members understand history and we’ve seen it before where Australia has almost gone broke under Labor governments. When it comes to the substance of policy, government matters. Good government matters. And only the Liberal National parties have been able to deliver good governments to clean up after Labor. I believe my colleagues understand that and I believe we are absolutely focused on getting the policies right so we can carry the country. So, they know under a Coalition Government when they are walking down their regional towns, those main streets can be full, the shops again can be selling, communities can be strong, real wages can rise and not go in decline. That's what matters. I think this next election will be decided around the kitchen table, Sally. And I think that's where we are at our strongest.
ENDS
