Saturday, 16 May 2026

Transcript - Doorstop interview, Melbourne Airport

Topics: Budget reply, Federal budget

E&OE...

Tim Wilson: Good morning everybody. It’s clear that the opposition is living rent-free in the Prime Minister’s head. Over the past week, what we’ve heard is a desperate attempt to defend a failing budget that is now in complete tatters. The government came out declaring that they were going to stand up for the next generation of Australians. What they did was announce a plan where they’re going to increase rent, build fewer homes, and kneecap young Australians by taxing their first home deposit when it’s invested. This government not just doesn’t have a plan for the future of Australia and to improve the aspirations of Australians. What they’ve focused this week on is declaring war on startups and founders and those that are creating the jobs for the next generation of Australians. They are weakening the country because their only solution is to fuel their inflation agenda and pour more debt petrol on the inflation fire. Australians are seeing through the con of this budget, they are seeing through the consequences of what it offers, and they are starting to stand up, speak out, and call out this government’s terrible agenda to increase the cost of living, inflation, higher debt on Australians and undermine the very prosperity that has made this country such a success.

Journalist: How’s the budget reply being received in the community?

Tim Wilson: The budget reply has been received well because it’s focused on what we need to do to build the future strength of our country, to encourage new Australians to come, to commit and contribute to our nation, and most importantly, to finally see some redress against Jim Chalmers' active inflation agenda. We know that the tax cuts the government offered before the last election were wiped out by December. The so-called tax cuts that the Treasurer’s offered in this budget will be wiped out by Christmas. And finally someone has a plan that is focused on making sure that the hard-earned income of Australians is kept in the back pockets of Australians, not fleeced by the Treasurer and the Prime Minister who cannot pull their belt in while they’re asking Australians to pull their belt in.

Journalist: Yesterday there were a few figures flying around in regards to the cost of indexing tax brackets to inflation in the first four years. The opposition leader Angus Taylor said over $20 billion in the first four years, deputy Liberal leader Jane Hume said the $22.5 billion figure for the first four years. Can you provide some clarity on how much this plan would cost?

Tim Wilson: The plan will cost $22.5 billion over the first few years. But what has been revealed yesterday is the Prime Minister has a secret agenda to increase income taxes by up to $200 billion. He is out there now boasting about what he claims he thinks repealing all of his income tax increases to come is going to cost. It’s time the Prime Minister was honest with the Australian people. In his budget on Tuesday night they outlined a whole new range of taxes they promised they wouldn’t introduce before the last election. We’ve since had leaked out of his own budget papers that they have a secret debt tax that was never flagged on budget night or even before the election. And now apparently he’s going around and going to increase income taxes by a further $200 billion in the lead up to the election. This government has a really loose relationship with the truth, there’s clearly deception going on, and the smoke and mirrors that surround his budget is going to clear and people are seeing that the future of Australians are going to be mortgaged by this Prime Minister.

Journalist: If I could also ask, the Prime Minister this morning wouldn’t rule out or rule in extending the halving of the fuel excise. Of course that’s due to wrap up on July the 1st. Would you support an extension to this measure? What’s your view?

Tim Wilson: We’re going to wait and see what the challenges of fuel supply is in Australia and the global situation before we make comment, because what we know is when we proposed the excise cut early was we provided inflation offsets. When we led this conversation we provided inflation offsets. Now the Prime Minister has gone and cut excise but in addition not provided inflation offsets and we do not want to see more debt petrol on the inflation fire. The Prime Minister’s and the Treasurer’s active inflation agenda is eroding the living standards and cost of living and purchasing power of Australians and we don’t want to see needless fuel inflation. We’re waiting to see both fuel supply and the global context before we provide an answer about the extension to fuel excise. But when we led this conversation originally and put the proposal forward, we made sure there were inflationary offsets because what we didn’t want was more debt petrol on the inflation fire. We didn’t want to see a stoking of Jim Chalmers' active inflation agenda which gives with one hand and takes with the other.

Journalist: How do you think first home buyers are feeling this weekend in light of the changes and does this provide any more confidence across the country?

Tim Wilson: Young Australians who are going to auctions this weekend know that the tax rate on their first home deposit that’s invested has just been doubled. They know that the government is going to build fewer homes so I’m under no doubt that there’s a desperation for young Australians to get into the market before Labor’s new taxes hit their home deposit that’s been invested. It’s suddenly very exciting going on behind me, it reminds me of the start of Love Actually where Hugh Grant narrates the story about what happens after the Twin Towers fall and how airports are places to bring together people with love, and that’s the spirit in which I’m doing this interview.

Journalist: I might just quickly ask you one final question. I note that you began this doorstop today saying that it’s clear the opposition is living rent-free in the Prime Minister’s head. Yesterday afternoon Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said that the one permanent resident in Angus Taylor’s head is One Nation leader Pauline Hanson. What’s your response to that?

Tim Wilson: It’s all very cute, we’re focused on making sure we’re building out the future of the Australian community, their prosperity, and making sure young Australians look to the horizon with confidence. It’s very clear that the opposition is living rent-free in the Prime Minister’s head and probably to a certain extent Jim Chalmers' because he’s made such a hash of this budget the Prime Minister is now having to pick up the pieces of a budget that’s utterly in disarray. Thanks guys.

Journalist: Thanks so much, appreciate it.

Tim Wilson: Thanks guys.

[ENDS]