Thursday, 25 June 2026

Transcript - Doorstop - Mural Hall, Parliament House

Topics: Topics: Labor’s toxic taxes, widow tax, employment, Tax Back Guarantee

E&OE……………………..

Tim Wilson: Well, today is a dark day for Australia. We have a Prime Minister who has betrayed the Australian people. 50 times over before the last election, he swore he would not introduce a series of taxes. He has now betrayed the Australian people and passed them through the Australian Parliament. He silenced and bullied Australians who wanted to be able to have their say by having a short inquiry. Australians, the small business owners, the self-starers, the families, the investors, those buying property to be able to provide rental properties for young Australians. It doesn't matter who you are, the government is not interested in your opinion.

And now they've railroaded this budget through the Parliament as a political fix to try and stop the debate. But at every point with this budget, it has continued to unravel faster than the Prime Minister can say 50 times over “I won't introduce these new tax new taxes”. What we've seen now is higher taxes on property. They've had to back down on CGT changes in for small businesses. They've now got a widows tax, which this morning we had Labor government ministers going out and defending by about 1:00 this afternoon, the Prime Minister humiliated the Treasurer again and has now been forced into repealing their position.

There is simply no consistency from this government. They don't understand the budget, the impact it's going to have on the economy, and how much it is going to knee cap the next generation of Australians who simply want to get ahead. While Australians will be looking at the parliament right now with despair, the arrogance of the Prime Minister, the dismissal of the Treasurer, and the disinterest of their voice in this conversation, including at the ballot box, there is hope.

One of the things that's been revealed this week is the persistent inflation. Even as the Iran crisis has eased, we have seen the evaporation of Iran inflation, which has left Australia with a homegrown inflation problem. We believe in our Tax Back Guarantee we will be able to provide Australians who work hard, who save and who want to get ahead tax relief so that the silent thief of inflation doesn't take away people's incomes.

We believe that it's important to back small business. The small businesses of this nation should want a government that is cheering them on, not punching down at them. A Coalition government will cheer small business on by providing a permanent $50,000 instant asset write-off, and we're also consulting about a Small Business Act to ring fence and protect small business against an aggressive Albanese government and future Labor governments whose only objective is to punch down on small business, attack their prosperity, attack their ambition and aspiration, and undermine and knee cap those who simply want to get ahead. The next election is now going to be a very clear choice between different visions for Australia. The choice is going to be between a dishonest, misleading, deceptive, deceitful Albanese government, and a Coalition government that's backing Australians to get ahead with aspiration and hope in their hearts.

Journalist: Mr Wilson, do you take any encouragement out of today's employment figures which have come down a bit, 40,000 new jobs?

Tim Wilson: What the unemployment figures clearly show is that Australia has a private sector employment crisis, and we have a massive expansion of public sector, direct and indirect public sector roles. This is one of the cons that sits at the heart of the Albanese economic model. You stoke inflation, you then tax the inflation, then you spend the inflation, and it goes in a vicious cycle. And that's why Australians have an inflation problem. It comes back to the Albanese government's economic model, and we're all going to continue to have more money taken out of our hip pockets. We're going to get less when we go to the supermarket and put items in the grocery basket or in the trolley, and until that model is broken, until we end the corruption, until we cut taxes, until we stop inflation, until we back small business, Australians won't have the hope, and that can only come from a change of government.

Journalist: But regardless, it seems as though small businesses are still prepared to put people on even though most of the jobs are part-time, 35,000 of them, would show that there is some resilience in the economy still.

Tim Wilson: Well small businesses are having to persevere against the attacks they're getting from the Albanese government. I don't want to see part-time workers when we could have full-time workers. But you're not going to see full-time work so long as the Albanese government oversees record small business insolvencies, record small business confidence collapse, record small business collapse. We have a real problem. We have record small business insolvencies in this country, and that's not the pathway for sustainable job opportunities and growth.

Journalist: Just on the tax legislation, are you concerned there could be other loopholes in what's been passed?

Tim Wilson: What we know is the government at every point has not understood the consequences of their budget. They haven't understood it on budget night, and they quickly had to unravel so many different components of their budget because they don't understand the Australian economy or the impact of what they're trying to do. So, is there a risk that there are going to be further problems down the track? Resolutely, yes. One was only identified while the bill was in the Senate on the eve of the budget passing the Parliament. We're going to continue to pursue this budget every step of the way because as its impacts are known, as people go and see their financial advisers, their accountants and their lawyers, what they'll come to realise is the Albanese government has a hit list and they're on it.

[ENDS]