Radio Transcript - Broadcast 20 October 2026, 6:09 PM - 6:25 PM  

Fran Kelly: Adding her voice to the heightened concern is Australia's Governor-General, Sam Mostyn. Governor-General, welcome to the Radio National Hour.

Governor-General: Thank you. Fran, on this very sad day.

Fran Kelly: How do you make sense of what happened yesterday to Helen Haines, a respected and extremely popular local MP?

Governor-General: Was very hard to make any sense of it, of course, and all of those words that we've just heard used to describe Helen are ones that I reflect on. Grace and dignity and decency, deeply committed to her community and I think what she taught us and why that comment about the T shirts, about what would Helen do, speak to someone who could enter into debates and discussions, disagreements, to make the point she needed to, on behalf of her community, always with respect and decency, and find a way through without ever disrespecting a person or descending into anything that looked like rancour or anger. And I think that's what people are so shocked about, that this could happen to the person who, in many respects, as everyone has said today, is an exemplar of what we hope our civic life can look like and how representatives can be. So, I think everyone is struggling and I think has to be reminded that it did happen to Helen, but it could have happened to anybody, given the rise we've seen in that incivility and as we've heard, increasing threats to our democratic processes.

Fran Kelly: today, we've seen this outpouring of concern, but also of alarm from our politicians, but also from many, many Australians. I know you talk to people from all areas of life in your job. Have you sensed a deep level of shock in the country over this attack?

Governor-General: Certainly shock and disbelief and then an outpouring of love for Helen and her family and her team and her community and Cathy McGowan and all of those that built that community representation for that part of Victoria. I'm particularly shocked, as I was with Helen down in her seat, actually, in Euroa just a couple of weeks ago. We were there to thank first responders for the bushfires and floods that have hit that area of Victoria. And just as we were leaving, we were just musing about this increased rise in incivility and we were talking about what would it look like if we all came together and talked about decency in civic life and where the education for Australians on our democratic principles, our democratic systems, respect for those who take public office and do represent communities? How would we bring more of that about? Because we've seen this decline, both in civility and in the understanding, I think, a deep understanding of how a democracy works and why it is that people do put their hands up at local, state and federal levels to represent communities in this great democracy we have, where it's the people choosing those they trust to go into our parliaments to help us make good laws and support our democracy. And so I think, having been with her and been thinking about what would that look like? What would the conversation look like? It's incomprehensible to me that it is Helen who is the subject of our grief and our shock tonight. But it does tell us so much about what the job ahead is. I also think, Fran, that I do often go back to former governors-general because I'm very clear about the role I play in this system. I have no politics. I don't create policy, I don't give grants and behave in a way that is partisan or can do things that the political system can do. But as Governor-General, there are unique opportunities to observe, and Sir Zelman Cowan said it was the job of the Governor-General to help the nation interpret itself in times of challenge. And then Sir William Deane, still alive at 95 in Canberra, who I see quite regularly, he said many, many years ago that in times of national tragedy, we've been equally impressed by the willingness of ordinary Australians to stretch out the hand of assistance and comfort, and that that spirit of generosity is the great healing force of our nation. And I think we have to start thinking about that healing. I think that's what Helen would want us to do. And just as her T shirts used to say for others who would think about what would Helen do? I think if this had happened to somebody else, and you were talking to Helen Haines, she would say, let's reach out to everyone who has been shocked and horrified by these events and make sure they're okay. Even people who've never met Helen, but who are really, really concerned about what this says and give them some comfort, reassure them that our system of government, our system of democracy, those that participate in, is a strong and vibrant one, and we must still believe in it and not give up on it. And I think she would simply say, Australians have good hearts and we need to trust that and put effort into working out how more of those good hearts can come forward and be seen and heard in these moments of crisis. And. But also we celebrate that when we're in good times as well. So, I Think it's a very difficult night. But as Governor-General, my interpretation of what is going on is that it is a significant challenge. It's a deep and terrible reminder, tragic reminder, of the risks that now people in public office run. And then a message to all of us that we all need to commit to a project of being participants, good participants, reliable participants in our democracy, and find a way to disagree well, to debate well, and to find that we don't wrestle people, that we wrestle ideas and something I've, When I travel the country, the two things that people will always come up and talk to me about, particularly deep in communities, will be ones who are requests, where they say, can we please be kind? Can kindness be a feature of our life again? We've lost a bit of kindness. I'm always uplifted when I hear people saying that kindness is a strength. And then they always say, can we also learn to go back to the time of disagreeing well. Now they're not asking us to agree. Australians have always argued robustly and passionately. I think that's a very healthy part of our democracy. It's how our democracy remains strong. But what they're asking for is decency in how we argue, to listen deeply and actively to each other, not simply wait for our turn to speak. And then I think we've got to remember that sometimes the people that we attack from afar and anonymously, sometimes who have not met, are always someone's daughter, neighbour, someone's mate. And negative message is much easier to sell. Anger travels better. Outrage can always be something that fits into our new social media system. But decency, I think, is the muscle that we've always had and we've got to continue to exercise and we need to exercise it more right now. I think that's what Helen was doing representing the seat of Indi.  

Fran Kelly: You're listening to the Radio National Hour. Governor-General, when you were sworn in, this has been a theme of yours, really, for your time in office, this notion of Australia becoming a kinder society, a more generous society. The ASIO chief, Mike Burgess, has warned again, as he has in the past, that elevated levels of grievance and intolerance and polarisation have continued to create a, quote, permissive environment of violence. In your two and a half years in this role, speaking to Australians around the country, as our highest elected female representative, have you personally seen and experienced this rise in grievance and intolerance, even as it has been your mission? I know to, as those people have said to you, can kind to bring kindness back as a feature of our community again.

Governor-General: I've certainly borne witness to that rise in incivility and watched, as we all have, the way in which we have often descended into discussions and debates that have had division at their core. And certainly we've seen that drive so much of the online world. I see the counterbalancing and the countervailing weight of good people doing good things in their community wherever I go and pushing back against that. So, I think it's a much stronger force of good. But of course, I'm not surprised that ASIO, together with the AFP and of course the Victorian police today, will be looking at all those things that come together that end up in this incident and looking to why that happens and what is a motive. And of course, I can't speak to any of that that are matters for authorities, but I think if we listen to the incredible work of the E-Safety Commissioner over the past decade, she has tracked that decade of rising in intolerance and the use of the online world to do some terrible things. And every time I go from the online world into the real world and meet real people and have the opportunity to talk about what strengthens us and what keeps us together, what's our project of unity, this country, I just see people who are so up for it and really want to be part of that project. But they always say that once you're on the online world and you are besieged by just the sheer volume and language that is used in that world, often anonymously, but not always that, you see a world that we worry about that can take people into isolation and those that are lonely and if that's their only source of information, the problems that arise from what happens to a person who's only getting that level of disinformation or misinformation and how they respond, how that fits into our mental health system, all of those kinds of things are complex matters for us. But I don't believe they tell us that we are so broken or that our social cohesion is ripped apart. I think it's reminding us that the decline in a democracy happens slowly and with threads begin to fray. And if you want to maintain the strength of a great democracy like ours, you have to commit to the preciousness of it and actually face into some of those forces and show that we can be better. Now, certainly after my appointment, I know people won't be surprised to know that the online traffic and criticism of me has been fairly consistent, because for those that don't want a woman in this job or see it in a particular light, then the online world is an easy place to lodge and to send in all those messages, often with vile language and with terribly highly gendered threats. So, I've seen it and I learned to ignore it and to continue to move forward with great optimism and care for our country and a deep belief in a fit of our country. But it is there. It is a persistent niggle and sometimes, and for many people, it's far worse than I see, but it is there. And I think that's where people will look to see how do we protect our, the people of the country from that? Deciding how we're going to show up versus the physical activity we do in community, which I do, I see all across the country. I see it every part of the country. I see the desire for this project of kindness and working together as a community. And people who are leaning in, they're yearning for a sort of sense of what is the strength of the Australian democracy? Why do other nations look to us with envy at the state of this democracy and its features? That's why here, whenever I travel the world, we are so blessed, not just with our physical advantages and our history, but with the state of our democracy and all of its unique Australian features. And that's where my sense of optimism still comes from.

Fran Kelly: And can you maintain that level of optimism, or are you worried about Australian democracy in the light of events like this? I noticed Senator Katy Gallagher said earlier today that she'd been ringing female MPs and a number of them had told her they were scared. And she says, and I don't think we should pretend otherwise. Are you concerned about what impact this might have on our democracy?

Governor-General: Well, it would be naive not to be concerned and to take this very seriously. This is an attack on a woman Member of Parliament. Licia Heath, I think, has done a powerful amount of work looking at the data of the pernicious particular attack on women who stand for public office. And many of us who are in his office know that the character of the attack is quite different. That's not to say that men don't receive criticism as well, but I think it's. It's different for women. I have met many. I spend a lot of my time in local community as the guest of local government. And increasingly I hear women and men who were used to love standing for local government positions as councillors of their local regions saying that they're not sure it's worth any more, and they're not sure if they want to deal with the attendant risk. And of course, at the local level, they don't have all the protections that are often afforded those in positions in the federal sphere or in jobs like mine. But there is the biggest worry I have. In addition to it being scaring people, unnerving people and making women feel unsafe and anyone in public office feeling unsafe, to be honest, the big concern for all of us should be that it prevents or disrupts the interest that we have of a generation wanting to be representatives of their communities and to step into these roles. And I guess if I had a balancing act with what I'm worried about and have a genuine concern about in that sphere, it's pretty well balanced by what I see in a generation of young people. We saw it most recently in the Speaker's call for the first ever Youth Parliament to celebrate 125 years since Federation and thousands and thousands of young Australians applied to be youth parliamentarians. 150 were chosen and I met them all over several days in Canberra. I meet youth delegations. I see kids coming through Government House every week from all over the country. 20,000 a year. The optimism and the spirit of connection to what we have here as an advantage, a bit to do with the fact that many of them have got three and four generations of time here, but have come from somewhere else to be part of this democracy and understand that great advantage. I see a generation that wants to change this and they're leading in different ways now, the Young Mayors Program, that foundation for young Australia runs. But these youth, these kids who want to be parliamentarians and our current youth leaders, they get it. And I think what they're telling us is that the adults in the system need to think carefully about how we conduct ourselves as part of our democratic roles and build confidence whilst we find the ways in which we deal with these menacing and difficult and very real challenges so that it doesn't take us down a direction from which we don't recover. It's really important that we know how precious this democracy is. And it's one of the reasons I've made my office so open and, I hope modern, by telling the story of every part of what a Governor-General does, in conjunction with the executives and our parliaments to invite people in to say, learn about this, be curious about our democracy, because young people are. And they want us to be better at it, and they want us to debate better, to find ways through these difficult moments with respect, whilst always having that robust and important discussion that makes sure we get to the right outcomes in our parliaments. And so Complex. Yes. Challenging. Yes. If we take the most important thing out of this horrific attack on a much loved federal representative, it is that we've got work to do. And we can all do that together. And there's lots for all of us to do. It's not defined. It's not confined to one part of the system. We can all show kindness and enter into debates better and find ways to really engage with our democracy.

Fran Kelly: Governor-General, thank you for your words, always of optimism and hope. Thank you.

Governor-General: Thanks so much, Fran.

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