LABOR MP Josh Wilson appeared to walk a fine line on his AUKUS position amongst many other scrupulous discussions at the federal candidates’ debate in Fremantle on Tuesday night. 

Every candidate except One Nation’s Hannah Marriner fronted a packed-out Tannock Hall crowd, less than three weeks out from the May 3 election, 

Both major parties were represented, with Mr Josh Wilson touting his nine-year tenure in the seat and Liberal candidate Tait Marston highlighting Australia’s economic issues, immigration, and productivity as reasons why he should replace the former. 

The Greens’ Amy Warne spoke about her party’s stances on climate and Palestine, while independent candidate Kate Hulett platformed her desire to hold the balance of power in Federal parliament and a breakaway from party politics. 

• Josh Wilson

The Socialist Alliance’s Josh Last was vocal about his party’s support for workers’ rights, environment, and opposition to the genocide in Gaza, and John Bird from the Citizen’s Party spoke of his party’s plan to implement a nationally owned bank. 

AUKUS was rigorously discussed, and Mr Wilson was questioned directly about how he can “reconcile being against AUKUS” while his party was full-steam-ahead on the nuclear submarine deal. 

Mr Wilson offered a deft reply, saying he didn’t think there was community support to throw Australia’s relationships with the UK and US “in the bin”, and cited his work to ban the live sheep trade to justify his position. 

“When I was elected in 2016 it was not the Labor Party’s policy to end the live sheep trade, and I accepted that was not the Labor Party’s position, because I’m a member of the Labor Party, and I was elected as a Labor Party representative,” Mr Wilson said. 

“I take my community’s interests into the conversations that the Labor Party has about policy positions and by making that argument, eventually we changed our position…I was able to persuade the party to change their view.  

Democracy

“That’s the way decisions are made by anyone in the parliament, you argue your point of view, but you accept that from one vote to the next there’s a democratic process that determines the position…that’s called democracy, collectivism, and solidarity, and it’s how all the big social changes have been delivered in Australia for the last 120 years.” 

John Bird described his position as “dead against” AUKUS, Kate Hulett labelled the deal“terrible for our country”, and Amy Warne said she was “completely opposed” to the deal made with an “unreliable ally” in the United States. 

Josh Last says his party would replace the nuclear submarine deal with “a foreign policy based on peace and justice”, but the Liberals’ Tait Marston said he “quite likes” the alliance Australia has made in its “national interest”. 

Housing, funding for the ABC, national debt, and taxes were also all vigorously dissected, to jeers, laughter, and cheers from a fully engaged crowd. 

Overall, the audience were vastly more well-behaved than at February’s state election, and there seemed to be slightly more policy discussion this time around, which was a welcome change from the state debate.

by KATHERINE KRAAYVANGER