Political Violence & The "Never Waste A Crisis" Playbook

Public theologian Dr Craig Heilmann joins Andrew Urquhart from Australia to react to the brutal attack on Victorian independent MP Helen Haynes and the news that Dame Jacinda Ardern has taken a social cohesion role at the University of Sydney. Dr Harman questions whether New Zealand grew more cohesive under Ardern, and warns that rising political violence, evident in both Australian street crime and attacks on politicians, threatens the civility democracy depends on.

Dr Heilmann argues governments are using the tragedy opportunistically to revive misinformation and disinformation laws, framing it as the state deciding whose "truth" counts rather than genuinely tackling violence. He contrasts this with what he sees as politicians' selective outrage, noting Australians face daily violence that draws little comment, and calls instead for toned-down rhetoric, honest reckoning with national history's good and bad, and renewed social unity over grievance politics and free-speech restrictions.

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