Saturday, 13 June 2026

Transcript - Doorstop, Melbourne

Topics: NDIS, the Greens, One Nation, Federal budget

E&OE...

Tim Wilson: Well today, the Greens need to decide whose side they’re on. They can be on the side of the Australian people and people with disabilities by supporting a six-month extension of the parliamentary scrutiny of NDIS changes, and of course, the broken promises in the federal budget. Or the Greens can betray the Australian people, side with the Albanese government, and support their efforts to bully people with a disability, and of course, to push through and ram through their budget of broken promises.

The Albanese government has tried to shut down discussion and debate at every point of this budget process and around changes to the NDIS. They don’t want the Australian people to have their say. The Albanese government has been trying to bully and silence Australians on important issues that affect them. Today, the Greens need to decide whose side they’re on. Are they on the side of the Australian people, Australians with a disability, and those who have a right to speak? Or are the Greens on the side of the Albanese government first, against the Australian people on their budget of broken promises, and of people with a disability?

Journalist: Why, Mr. Wilson—I think we've heard this term like "dirty deal" and stuff from when Labor sided with the Greens—but we've also seen the Coalition side with the Greens on a couple of issues to stymie Labor's budget. Why is it a dirty deal when they do it, but not when the Coalition does it?

Tim Wilson: Our focus is to make sure that the Australian people have their say in their democracy. And making sure that Australians have their say is of critical importance because the government didn't go to the last election saying they were going to do reforms like this to the NDIS. They didn't say they were going to go to the last election with a series of new taxes, toxic taxes, to impose on the Australian community. Quite the reverse. By the Prime Minister's own admission, he said 50 times over he wasn't going to introduce new taxes on the Australian people.
They silenced the Australian people at the election by not being honest with them, and now they're trying to silence people through a parliamentary process and shutting down inquiry and the voice of the Australian people in their democracy. That's why it's time for the Greens to decide whose side they're on. Are they on the side of Australians having their say into economic reforms, into broken budget promises, or are they on the side of shutting debate down, on the side of the Albanese government, on the side of broken promises, and on the side of silencing people with a disability?

Journalist: On another issue, Mr. Wilson, we’ve seen a neo-Nazi gatecrash Pauline Hanson's fundraiser last night. He said that he was a supporter of Pauline Hanson. Do you think that that is—what do you make of that, that neo-Nazis are turning up to support her publicly?

Tim Wilson: Well, Ms. Hanson, in her own words, has said that she’s had to deal with extremists in her ranks and she’s had to expel extremists within her ranks. And so if she has more extremists within her ranks, that’s something for her to answer for, but I don’t think any of us should be surprised. When Ms. Hanson has gone on national press and admitted that extremists have been involved with her party and it’s something she’s very concerned about, it should also be something Australians are very concerned about.

Journalist: She said that she’s never advocated for a White Australia policy. Do you think that’s fair, perhaps given the platform she’s been voted on?

Tim Wilson: Well, she can decide what she’s advocated for in the past or not, and the record will show what she’s advocated for in the past or not. The key question is, who is going to unite the country and focus on bringing Australians together as one land, one people, with one destiny? Our focus as a Coalition is on making sure we restore standards of living and protect our way of life. You have a Labor Party that has divided Australians through its budget process, both through its budget of broken promises and deceit, and of course, we’re seeing the equal and opposite reaction at the other end of the political spectrum. As the Coalition, we’re focused on bringing Australians together, building a better future, and taking every Australian forward together.

Journalist: So, we know that there’s going to be a couple of mixed messages coming out of the Coalition camp, how closely do you work with One Nation to try and bring down this Labor government? But does the fact that neo-Nazis are actively supporting and overlapping with this party, does that give your party more pause for thought for working closely with them to bring down a Labor government? I mean, surely Labor is better than a party that support—is supported by extremists like this?

Tim Wilson: Our objective is to elect a Coalition government that defines the future of Australia. And that’s to make sure both that we remove the Albanese government, but elect a government that brings Australians together. There are lots of political parties out there that will do all sorts of different things, and they have to answer for their conduct. We’ll be focused on making sure we build the case for an animating vision that defines the future of Australia, that elects a Coalition government, and takes Australians forward together.

Journalist: Just on the deal with the Greens that you're offering, why are you wanting a longer inquiry into these tax changes when you seem to have already pretty clearly made up your mind on them? And I suppose, in the same vein, why would the Greens want an inquiry on the NDIS when they seem pretty against those changes? Do you think an inquiry would change your view on them? Is that the purpose of it?

Tim Wilson: Well, the objective is not to change our view. The objective is to inform the government's view. This government has consistently railroaded the Australian people, broken promises, and tried to shut down input from the Australian people. At the last election, by the words of the Prime Minister himself, 50 times over he said he wasn't going to introduce the taxes in this budget. He denied and silenced Australians then. We think Australians should have the opportunity to have their say, to have their input, because it's also clear the government doesn't understand its own budget and the impact it's going to have.
The government railroading these changes through the budget process and through the parliament is just another sneaky attempt to silence the Australian people, but there will be significant economic consequences that follow from it.

Journalist: Would a six-month inquiry just be kicking the can down the road for another six months and not actually change the outcome?

Tim Wilson: A six-month inquiry would give the Australian people a chance to have their say that they were denied at the last election. A six-month inquiry would enable the consequences of these broken promises and new taxes to come to light, and more importantly, it would expose that the Albanese government doesn't understand the modern Australian economy. The impact of the tax changes they're introducing—higher taxes which will push up rents, reduce the volume of supply of housing, and punish young first-home buyers trying to invest their deposit to get ahead.

Journalist: And just one more on Pauline Hanson, if that's alright. Pauline said that—she almost seemed a bit surprised that there were sort of people supporting white supremacy at the front of her event last night. She says she doesn't support a White Australia. Do you think that's a message she sends clearly enough as the leader of her party?

Tim Wilson: Well, what she decides to do and what she wants to project is up to her. We know in history that—and Pauline has admitted it herself—she has attracted extremists into her ranks that she's increasingly claiming she's having trouble dealing with. It doesn't surprise me at all that there are more extremists attracted to her because she's not focused on how we take the country united, forward together.
Labor has divided this country. Labor has divided this country through its budget of broken promises, and we're seeing an equal and opposite reaction by other parties. Only the Coalition is focused on how we're going to unite the country and take it forward together.

[ENDS]