ABC Afternoon Briefing: Early Voting, Gas Policy and Avoiding Culture Wars (22 Apr 2025)

Interviewer:
Lost amid the international news is that early voting has begun in Australia. That's right. If you have a reason to tell the AEC that you actually can't vote on voting day, you can go and pre-poll. Kate Chaney is the independent MP for Curtin in Western Australia and has been out on the booths this morning. Welcome to the programme.

Kate Chaney:
Thank you very much, Patricia.

Interviewer:
First of all, what is your reflection on the passing of Pope Francis? Of course, that has been the reason politics has really almost been put on pause today.

Kate Chaney:
Yeah. I mean, he obviously was a great leader who really focused on protecting the vulnerable. And I think that's a message that has resonated worldwide. There are a lot of people who will be very sad about his passing, whether they're Catholic or not, because I think we do need more of that compassion in a lot of our global discussion. So, you know, I'm sad to see his passing.

Interviewer:
Now you've been out on pre-poll today, day one. How did it go?

Kate Chaney:
Well, we're still in the middle of school holidays here, so it's been steady this morning, but I suspect that the volume of people passing through pre-poll will build this week and next week. I've had some great conversations, got lots of volunteers at the pre-polling booths, and it's great to see people coming through and getting started early. I feel like it's on and we're ready for it.

Interviewer:
There are a couple of things I just talked to my panel about that I'd like to get your thoughts on. Of course, you were elected in, you know, a wave—the teal wave, as it's been known—at the last election. Lots of reasons why, of course, you were all elected, and different reasons across your electorates, I acknowledge. But one reason was women being quite angry with the previous government. And, you know, the so-called women’s vote, if you could kind of homogenise it that way, was certainly activated around some of those issues. There's a Newspoll out today suggesting that Peter Dutton has an issue with women. Is that something that you've observed in the last couple of weeks of campaigning?

Kate Chaney:
Well, I don't think that a Peter Dutton–led Liberal government is doing any more for women than a Scott Morrison–led Liberal government did. And certainly there are a lot of people, a lot of women in my electorate, who don't feel that the level of compassion or kindness that they would like to see in politics is reflected in what they see coming out of the Liberal Party. So that polling would not surprise me. It's not just women who think that, but I think there is a broad sense of dissatisfaction as we see Peter Dutton take the party further to the right and further towards a Trump approach to politics. I think he's really losing women in moderate electorates like mine, who are much more interested in the centre and have a strong sense of equality.

Interviewer:
Just to push back a little bit on that idea that he's moved the Liberal Party further to the right—just on some issues. For instance, the other day he was asked a question about the judgement in the UK in relation to the definition of women. That's been a really big debate around the world, but obviously the UK is moving in a particular direction. He was asked this question and he wouldn't go there. He didn't give this any oxygen. He didn't want to comment on this. Now he's been criticised, I've seen online, from people like the Australian Christian Lobby who don't see him as right-wing enough. Do you give him any credit for trying to avoid some of these culture wars?

Kate Chaney:
Well, I think it's great if we can all avoid these culture wars. They are really a distraction from the big issues that we're facing—the long-term issues that determine the future of the country—rather than these short-term issues that aim to polarise people and create divisions. So I encourage any moves that move us away from culture wars and more to solving the big issues.

Interviewer:
Now, the other big policy offering, which of course affects your constituents because you're such a resources state, is the Coalition’s gas policy. Are you getting a sense from your voters that it's a policy they support?

Kate Chaney:
Well, I think there are a few special things about Western Australia. We do have amazing resources. We also have amazing natural features. And there is a strong sense that people want to protect nature and also a broad awareness that as the world decarbonises, we need to have an economic base that continues to be prosperous. So that's what I hear from constituents here—they want to know where the jobs are going to be in ten, twenty, thirty years, and make sure that we're boldly moving towards that economy rather than holding on to the economy of the past.

Interviewer:
Do you get a sense about whether there is a minority government incoming? You obviously are being fiercely contested by the Liberal Party, who hope to regain your seat. But, as honestly as you can be with me, what is the feeling on the ground and whether you'll be able to maintain—perhaps even gain—because there has been a Labor majority government, but have a stronger role in the lower house?

Kate Chaney:
I don't know how it's going to turn out, but certainly I'll be leaving nothing on the table. I feel like there is a strong sense in my electorate that people have really liked being represented differently. I don't think either major party has done anything that would reverse the long-term trend of declining primary support for those parties. And I think people are really starting to come around to the idea that a balanced parliament may actually be the best chance we have to drive better long-term thinking and policy that's based on what we need rather than party ideology. So I certainly am getting good, strong signs from my community, but it's definitely going to be close.

Interviewer:
Obviously, this issue around integrity and transparency has become one of the rallying cries of your political movement—or the different elements of it. Today, Monique Ryan, who is another independent—not you—but has been asked questions by Sky News. She wouldn't speak to them, and it's been seen as a pretty negative moment perhaps for her for not speaking to the reporter trying to speak to her. Do you think that is damaging to the notion that teal independents are transparent and welcome scrutiny?

Kate Chaney:
Well, I think everyone will make their own decisions about which media they speak to. But there’s been a pretty concerted attack from parts of the media against the independents, and I think that it's a perfectly reasonable decision to decide in what circumstances you're going to talk to media. We've certainly seen Peter Dutton not doing as much media as might be expected for someone in his position. There’s been huge media pressure and attention on the crossbenches, and I'm not surprised that people are making decisions on a day-to-day basis about the circumstances in which they're ready to have a conversation.

Interviewer:
That's an interesting point you make. So, do you decline Sky News invitations?

Kate Chaney:
Oh, look, I've done plenty of Sky News in the past, and we make decisions at the time. There's a lot of media scrutiny, a lot of media interest in the campaign, which is understandable. My main focus is how do I communicate with the people here in my electorate, who are my priority and who I'm accountable to? So that's what guides my decisions about media.

Interviewer:
Thank you so much for joining us, Kate Chaney. I appreciate you saying yes to speaking to us, and I'd like you to come back again if you can.

Kate Chaney:
Thanks so much, Patricia.