Ms Harkin told Raf Epstein she did not accept the premise that the video, screened at the party's campaign launch in Melbourne earlier this month, was racist. “It is big issues that need to be addressed,” she said, adding that the video reflected a “general view about all the things that are going wrong in Australia.” Most people, she said, would agree “we do have problems with crime in the state, we do have problems with social cohesion and where it's coming from.”
When pressed on whether the material judged people as members of a group rather than as individuals, Ms Harkin denied any prejudice. “Would you complain if it was a white-skinned person or a female with blonde hair?” she asked.
The clip previously sparked a dispute between a Tasmanian cafe owner offended by the video and Pauline Hanson's daughter, who is a customer at the business.
Over the weekend, federal One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce said he had not seen the video, but described “machete crime” as “an incredibly scary thing.” “People are terrified of the law-and-order issues in Victoria and it should be dealt with,” he told the ABC.
Ms Harkin also used the interview to say One Nation Victoria was not interested in a coalition with the Liberals but would direct preferences to the party ahead of Labor. “Labor is our political enemy and the Liberal Party is our political competition,” she said. “We will work with anybody to remove Labor, anybody.” She also claimed climate change was irrelevant to the Australian economy and said the party was serious about rescinding Victoria's landmark Treaty.