Transcript: Interview with Chris Kenny, Sky News - 19 March 2026

TRANSCRIPT

INTERVIEW WITH CHRIS KENNY, SKY NEWS

19 March 2026

Topics: fuel crisis, appointment of new fuel tsar, South Australian state election   

E&OE…………………………………

CHRIS KENNY: Let's go to our first guest tonight, and I'm joined here by the Shadow Health Minister Anne Ruston who's a Liberal Senator for South Australia. Good to talk to you, Anne. I'll get your thoughts on the state election in just a moment but first up on fuel security, is this the right move by Anthony Albanese to appoint a fuel tsar? 

ANNE RUSTON: Well, I just think it's a cop out by Anthony Albanese. I mean, we have known for some time that there were going to be challenges as a result of the war, which are exacerbated because we've already got a cost-of-living crisis in this country. You know, inflation, everybody's struggling to pay their bills and the like. And some nearly three weeks into this, Anthony Albanese decides to hold a National Cabinet and appoint an independent person to actually, once again, deflect from the responsibility of his government and what they haven't been doing in responding to this crisis. I mean, one day there's no crisis, the next day there is. One day apparently it's our fault because we're buying too much fuel, the next day apparently it's the suppliers. I mean, the mixed messaging that we have seen on this issue, it is no wonder Australians are confused. And now today he wants to give somebody else the opportunity to take the blame, so he's appointed a fuel tsar in the country. It is just - it is such a terrible indictment on this government's handling of this issue. 

CHRIS KENNY: Is she the right person? Would she have the right capabilities to make sure we've got adequate fuel supplies around the country? 

ANNE RUSTON: I don't know why the Minister and the Prime Minister aren't actually using the resources of the departments that they have at their disposal. All of the information that Anthony Albanese should be receiving in order to make decisions should be contained within his departments. I'm at a loss as to why we need to have an external person. Look, if it resolves the issue and it gets fuel into the tractors of our farmers and into the cars of Australian citizens, that's great. But quite frankly, it just looks like another deflective cop out by the Government. 

CHRIS KENNY: Let's have a quick look at Anthony Albanese responding to questions on this today. 

[Clip starts]

JOURNALIST: You said Australia had enough fuel, but how can you say that when, you know, petrol stations are running out? That can't be true, right? 

ANTHONY ALBANESE: There is not less fuel in Australia today than there was three weeks ago. This is an issue, has been an issue of increased demand. 

[Clip ends]

CHRIS KENNY: Yeah, Anthony Albanese there. It is a strange situation - appointing a fuel tsar, having a National Cabinet, but telling us we've got plenty of fuel and there's no less than we had a few weeks ago. So, we will see what unfolds there. But I want to get your thoughts on the South Australian election. You'll be deeply involved in it, of course. But I want to start off by reminding viewers of what we showed yesterday with Pauline Hanson's reception in Adelaide Mall, right in the heart of Adelaide. 

[Clip plays]

CHRIS KENNY: Yeah, I was relegated to being a photographer for all the people who wanted to be seen with Pauline Hanson yesterday. She and Corey Bernardi, very popular. I was there. I saw it. There's something on the move. The polls tell us they're going to get more first preference votes than the Liberals. Are they going to become the second political force in this country come Saturday? 

ANNE RUSTON: Well, I'm certainly not going to get ahead of Saturday. I mean, I think we'll wait and see what Saturday actually brings. A lot of people have already voted and obviously the only poll that really matters is the one that gets counted on Saturday night. So, I'll reserve my judgement to see what happens. But, you know, quite clearly, Pauline Hanson is a good retail politician and she has very cleverly tapped into - I think there are a lot of Australians who are really angry about the drop in their standard of living and they are protesting that. And I think the Liberal Party has a lot more to do to make sure that our communication is much better with Australians about what we would be offering as an alternative. But, quite frankly, the thing that I think has been so positive for the Liberal Party in this election campaign has been the incredible performance by Ashton Hurn. I mean, she's only had barely 100 days to be able to - [interrupted]. 

CHRIS KENNY: We're going to get a look at her in a minute, sorry to cut you off, but I just want to finally get your thoughts then. Obviously, there is concern in the community, obviously people are unhappy with government, but they've got a Labor state government and a Labor federal government, so why isn't the Liberal Party able to capitalise on that, on those grievances, rather than One Nation? 

ANNE RUSTON: Well, I think that was the point I was actually getting to, Chris, is that I think we've got to do better at communicating. I think Australians are getting their information by many, many different sources than they used to and I think our campaigning skills are quite antiquated in comparison to our competitors. So, I think as Australians lift off the Labor Government and they're pretty angry about what they're finding, they're protesting about where they find themselves, and that protest vote has gone to the minor parties including One Nation. We need to do better about communicating what we are offering and, as I said, I think Ashton Hurn's done a great job but she was left with very little runway in which to do it in. 

CHRIS KENNY: She was given a pretty tough job. Thanks for joining us, Anne Ruston. I appreciate it. 

ENDS