MELBOURNE - The interview, conducted as part of a joint editorial initiative by Independent Multicultural Media Australia (IMMA), was broadcast live on Rete Italia and Il Globo TV. Hill spoke with Il Globo Editorial Director Marco Patavino and Neos Kosmos journalist Fotis Kapetopoulos, addressing concerns raised by Australia's multicultural communities, including the Italian and Greek communities, about the growing electoral support for Pauline Hanson's One Nation.
Hill argued that the party's rise cannot be viewed in isolation from broader international developments.
“We know Australians are under pressure,” he said. “Over the past five years we've moved from one crisis to another – the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, the conflict in the Middle East, rising inflation and increasing living costs. These are global events beyond the control of the Australian Government, but they have had a real impact on Australian families.”
Periods of economic uncertainty, he said, often create opportunities for populist movements to gain support.
“One Nation identifies real issues that concern Australians, and it's important to acknowledge that,” Hill said. “The problem is that it doesn't offer credible solutions.”
Rather than focusing on political messaging or social media campaigns, Hill encouraged voters to examine the party's parliamentary record.
“You only need to look at how they've voted over the past 30 years,” he said. “One Nation has supported cuts to wages, penalty rates and paid parental leave, and is now proposing to abolish entire federal departments such as Health and Education. That's not a credible program for government; it's a protest platform.”
A significant part of the discussion focused on the strength of Australia's multicultural model, which Hill described as one of the country's greatest achievements.
Rejecting claims that Australia had somehow lost a once-unified national identity, Hill said the idea of a monocultural Australia isn’t reflected in the country's history.
“The myth of a monocultural Australia has never existed,” he said. “We've become one of the world's most successful multicultural societies thanks to the contribution of Italians, Greeks, Serbs, Vietnamese, Cambodians, Indians, Chinese and many other communities. The real question isn't whether Australia will be multicultural, because we've always been multicultural. The challenge is making sure that diversity continues to be a source of national strength, prosperity and security.”
According to Hill, the Albanese Government's response to growing political and social tensions begins with effective government and practical measures to ease financial pressure on households.
He pointed to income tax cuts, increased investment in Medicare, expanded bulk billing, cheaper medicines and funding for renewable energy projects designed to help reduce electricity prices.
“Good government means addressing the cost of living, because that's the number one concern for Australians today,” Hill said.
Economic policy, however, is only part of the response.
Hill said protecting Australia's multicultural framework remained equally important and reaffirmed the Government's commitment to ensuring Australians can maintain their cultural heritage while participating fully in society.
“This Government will always support Australians being proud of their cultural identity,” he said. “We expect people who come to Australia to integrate into our society, but that doesn't mean giving up their culture. We want children and grandchildren to know their family history, to speak the language of their parents and grandparents, and to value the traditions they inherited.”
Hill also referred to one of the central recommendations of the Multicultural Framework Review: the concept of multicultural patriotism.
“Multiculturalism isn't only about rights,” he said. “It's also about responsibilities. It means respecting Australia's laws, our democratic institutions, equality between men and women, and showing respect for one another. That's why I prefer to talk about integration rather than assimilation.”
Hill addressed the issue of skilled migration, a topic of particular interest to many multicultural communities, including the Italian community, especially in sectors such as construction, aged care and education.
He said Australia's ageing population makes it essential to continue attracting skilled workers from overseas, while maintaining employment opportunities for locals as the first priority.
“Australians should always have the first opportunity to fill available jobs,” Hill said. “But when the labour market can't meet demand, we need to be ready to welcome skilled professionals with the expertise our country needs.”
He highlighted the Government's investment in speeding up the recognition of overseas qualifications for thousands of workers in the construction industry, where workforce shortages continue to present one of Australia's most significant economic challenges.
The interview examined growing political polarisation and the recent rise in antisemitic incidents across Australia.
Hill described maintaining a strong political centre as “one of the most important challenges facing Australian society”, noting that many Western democracies are experiencing increasing polarisation at both ends of the political spectrum.
“Polarisation isn't created by cultural diversity,” he said. “It grows from social division, misinformation and interference by authoritarian foreign governments using social media to influence public debate.”
Turning to antisemitism, Hill reaffirmed the Government's support for the Royal Commission currently investigating the issue.
“Australian Jews have been part of this country's story since Federation,” he said. “No Australian should ever be held responsible for the actions of a foreign government. We will fight antisemitism with the same determination that we fight every other form of racism and discrimination.”
The interview concluded with a discussion about another of Hill's ministerial responsibilities Customs — and the Government's efforts to combat the illicit tobacco trade.
Hill said international organised crime groups are increasingly exploiting global oversupply to smuggle illegal tobacco into Australia, using the profits to fund other criminal activities.
“Over the past few decades Australia has achieved something remarkable,” he said. “Through the combined efforts of governments, communities and public health organisations, we've reduced adult smoking rates to some of the lowest in the developed world. That has saved countless lives, increased life expectancy and spared an entire generation from the burden of smoking-related disease and premature death.”
He said the public health benefits had also translated into significant savings for the healthcare system, allowing governments to direct resources towards other priorities.
“That's an extraordinary achievement,” Hill said. “We're not going to allow organised crime to undermine Australia's public health policies by flooding the market with cheap illegal tobacco and exposing a new generation to nicotine addiction.”
He said the Australian Border Force's priority is to intercept illegal tobacco shipments before they reach Australia, pointing to record seizures made at the border in recent months.
However, Hill stressed that federal enforcement alone would not solve the problem. He said state governments also have a critical role to play by shutting down illegal retailers that continue to supply the black market and make illicit tobacco readily available to young people.
Throughout the interview, Hill presented the Albanese Government's vision of addressing Australia's economic challenges without compromising the principles that have shaped the nation's modern identity.
Rather than responding to social tensions by setting communities against one another, he argued that Australia's future depends on striking the right balance between integration, civic responsibility and respect for the many cultural identities that make up the country's multicultural society.
For Hill, that balance remains one of Australia's greatest strengths and one worth protecting for future generations.
