E&OE TRANSCRIPT
TV INTERVIEW
SUNRISE
TUESDAY, 20 OCTOBER 2026
TOPICS: HELEN HAINES; DRINK SPIKING
MONIQUE WRIGHT: Well, there's a growing push to call out drink spiking as the countdown to schoolies begins. It comes as Federal Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek issues an urgent plea to all Australians to condemn the predatory behaviour and stop treating it as just a women's safety issue.
DAVID WOIWOOD: She warned it happened to her friend at a local pub and her daughter at a house party, reminding us that anyone can fall victim to this crime anywhere and anytime. And for more on this, let's bring in Tanya Plibersek, Federal Social Services Minister. And in just a moment, we'll bring in Dr Stephen Parnis, a senior specialist in emergency medicine. But first, Tanya, we want to start and ask you about this horrific attack on Helen Haines. It has rocked that community there in Indi and the Federal Parliament.
MINISTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES, TANYA PLIBERSEK: Well, it certainly has. Helen is a fantastic human being. She's an incredibly hard working representative for her local community. She's loved and respected across the Parliament and we are all shocked today. Our thoughts are obviously with her family, her very loving family. Her staff would have been there in the office. She's got many, many volunteers that support her in her work for Indi. All of them would be devastated today and our thoughts are with them.
Can I just say one other thing. It's so important for our democracy that things like this don't happen. Like the best thing, the one thing about being a parliamentarian in Australia is people stop me at the supermarket or talk to me at the kids sport and we can agree or disagree, but we can do that better and more safely. This sort of attack is horrific for Helen and her community, but it is a terrible thing for our democracy if politicians have to separate themselves from the public?
WRIGHT: We had Hannah Ferguson on earlier and she would like to be a parliamentarian herself. She said, in particular, women in parliament are targeted.
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: 100%. I mean, the threats of violence have gone through the roof in the time I've been there.
WOIWOOD: Your colleague Anne Aly documented that recently. Do you receive them? What does that look like for you?
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: Yes, I mean, rape and death threats are regular. Like I say, it is a worry for the person, for their family, but it is a terrible thing for our democracy because it stops great people wanting to do the work.
WRIGHT: And particularly women. Let's move on to drink spiking now. Now you say you don't want this to be a women's issue?
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: Yeah. Look, I think it's really important. People are heading off to schoolies. We do have to say to young people, girls and boys, be careful, watch your drink, don't leave it unattended, watch your friends drinks. If someone offers to buy you a drink, make sure you see it poured by the bartender. All of that safety advice still stands, but I really want to take a step back and think about this.
For someone to spike someone's drink, they have to abort the drug. They have to be sitting there waiting and watching. They have to take that moment, they have to get the person on their own and then sexually assault them. The level of planning that that takes, surely the friends they have around them, the people that they're in company with, should be saying to them, mate, honestly, what are you planning? Think twice. And I think it's also really important to say to young people, if you're out with a group and someone looks like that they're losing control of their faculties, get them somewhere safe, get them to hospital. Get them to hospital.
WOIWOOD: Okay, let's bring in Dr Stephen Parnis now. He's a senior specialist in emergency medicine. Good morning, Stephen. How often are victims presenting to our hospitals?
DR STEPHEN PARNIS: Good morning, David, Monique and Tanya. Well, we know from fairly dated evidence that there are thousands of presentations with the thought that drink spiking has led to them coming to emergency every year across the country.
WRIGHT: Okay, how dangerous are the drugs?
PARNIS: They can go anywhere from of mild impact all the way through to life threatening. We have to remember that still far and away the most common drug, that causes the numbers and the severity of harm is alcohol. And that can put people in a hospital bed. It can have them fighting for their life if they've suffered trauma as a result of being intoxicated.
WOIWOOD: Stephen, what are the symptoms of drink spiking? How do you know if you've had your drink spiked?
PARNIS: It's incredibly difficult and we know that many people who have suffered this assault don’t even know that it's happened, because the effects of any of these drugs is incredibly variable. Anything from things like sedation, nausea, vomiting, a lack of memory all the way through to stimulant effects, things like ice or ecstasy, which can lead people to feel incredibly agitated, have their blood pressure racing, their heart going at 200 per minute, those sorts of things. And in emergency, it's all about what we call supportive care, which is trying to keep them safe while these drugs wear off from their system.
WRIGHT: Yes. And over time, it can be compounding those symptoms. So, as Tanya said, get them to hospital as soon as you can.
PARNIS: Absolutely.
WRIGHT: Dr Steven Parnis and Tanya Plibersek, thank you so much, both of you, for coming in on this really important issue.
ENDS
