This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Greg Hunt has repeatedly questioned whether an ABC presenter believes in “freedom of speech” in an interview defending Victorian Liberal members’ plans to debate gay conversion therapy.



The health minister told Radio National presenter Patricia Karvelas he does not support gay conversion therapy but refused to say if he was concerned by a motion that was to be debated at the upcoming Liberal state council.

On Monday Fairfax Media reported that the Victorian Liberal president, Michael Kroger, had intervened to stop a proposed motion to allow doctors to “offer counselling out of same-sex attraction or gender transitioning”.

After questions about the Greens’ plans to legalise cannabis and private health insurance rebates, Karvelas asked Hunt whether he was alarmed by the proposed motion.

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“Look, it’s not something I support, it’s not federal government policy, it’s not going to be federal government policy and we’re not about to change our position on that,” Hunt replied.



The health minister added “people are entitled to have different views, views that I disagree with”.

“What I do worry about is this constant view that nobody is anywhere allowed to have a different view. As a journalist, I would hope you would believe in freedom of speech.”

In a testy exchange – possibly designed to throw red meat to the growing conservative faction of the Victorian Liberal party – Hunt then asked Karvelas if she believed in freedom of speech. When she affirmed she did, Hunt repeatedly asked her to define the concept.

Hunt clarified that he was not suggesting freedom of speech included the right to attempt to convert young people away from homosexuality.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Patricia Karvelas was berated by federal health minister Greg Hunt in a fiery interview. Photograph: ABC

“No – [they’re] two completely different things. Do I think that there should be a practice of doing that? No. Do I think people have the right to have views I disagree with? They are entitled to have views you and I disagree with.”

Hunt asked Karvelas if she was “afraid to stand up for freedom of speech” by failing to provide a definition of the concept.

When Karvelas thanked Hunt for appearing on the program, Hunt chastised her, saying it was “disappointing” that she had not answered his question.

“You asked questions that you want to present as a game but this is a real discussion about freedom of speech and this was your chance – and I hope you run this in full,” he said.

The interview continued, with Hunt grumbling she had not answered the question. Karvelas then asked why Kroger had pulled the motion, prompting Hunt to claim he was not aware there was one.

“I have no idea about the background to it,” he replied, after answering several minutes of questions about the motion.

Karvelas reaffirmed that she believes in freedom of speech, adding she also believed gay conversion therapy “has had devastating results for people”, noting that Hunt and “science” also took that view.

Apparently believing he was no longer on-air, Hunt said he believed in freedom of speech but Karvelas “wouldn’t say that when we were on air”.

“We’re on air right now – I do plan to run this,” Karvelas said, adding it was “extraordinary” Hunt had “tried to turn around the interview and hijack it”.

“I am surprised it took an extraordinary amount of time for you to acknowledge you actually believe in freedom of speech,” Hunt said before Karvelas finally concluded the interview.