Wednesday, 3 June 2026

Transcript - Doorstop - Mural Hall, Parliament House Canberra

Topics: National accounts figures, AUKUS

E&OE...

Tim Wilson: Well, the national accounts have come out today and they have shown something deeply disappointing. Even before Iran and the budget, the economy was slowing, Australians’ standards of living was going backwards, and inflation is persisting. And of course, as a consequence, Australians are going backwards because of the economic policies of the Albanese government. The response from the Treasurer has been to give himself a participation award and congratulate and back-slap himself for these disappointing numbers. When the economy is slowing, before Iran and before the budget, Australians are going backwards, and we need a government that is going to lead and build out the future economic prosperity and growth of this country. We don't need a Treasurer giving himself a participation medal. The numbers show that the Australian economy is basically being propped up by migration, by nearly 2 million people since Labor has come to office, and what we know is that off the back of these numbers, we've had an international crisis and now a federal budget where the only answer from the government has been to increase taxes on struggling small businesses and households. We have record small business insolvencies. We have households struggling to keep themselves afloat. And the only answer from the Albanese government is lower living standards and higher taxes with higher inflation. Australians are going backwards, it's designed by the economic model of the Albanese government, and we need dramatic change if we're going to see an improvement in the living standards of Australians.

Journalist: Looking at a year ago, the data we had from March 2025 was similar, .3% increase, but at the time overall GDP growth had a one in front of it. Are we not in a better position overall, like one year on, considering?

Tim Wilson: Well, this time last year we were in the lead up to an election, of course, and the choices that were coming as a result of that, so you were always getting a cooling off of investment as a consequence of direction of the country, but what we know is the government has continued to prop up our economic numbers off the back of migration, and now we're in a position where we've got higher taxes, higher inflation, higher inflation is the critical part of it, and of course, Australian households doing worse, and we now have record small business insolvencies. This is not an environment for optimism or growth. Australians need hope, and it's not going to come from higher taxes, higher inflation, and lower living standards.

Journalist: The Treasurer says that the data today doesn't I guess encapsulate the full extent of the consequences for the Middle East war. What do you reckon that means for the months ahead?

Tim Wilson: What it shows is that Australia was in a weaker position going into the Iran crisis and the federal budget. And since then, we know that inflation has persisted and picked up and compounded, and we know that the budget has introduced higher taxes on small businesses and Australian households. So, these numbers show what is to come, and unfortunately, the Treasurer is making a bad problem worse through his budget.

Journalist: The ABS also singled out the fuel price increase during that first month of the Middle East conflict. Are you concerned that there's future sort of blowouts because of ongoing fuel price increases?

Tim Wilson: Well, going into this crisis, we know that the economic environment was weakening. And that's the problem. So yes, we have external factors that are going to compound the problem, but the problem existed before we had these international crises. And then the response from the government in the federal budget was to compound the problem and add more taxes on small businesses and households who want to get ahead, who are essential for the future growth of the economy, and they're now knee-capping Australians for their pathway to get ahead.

Journalist: And just on the AUKUS changes, we heard today as well the Treasurer would not tell us what the change in the cost of the program would be based on the extra second-hand submarines, that that will only be announced in the mid-year economic outlook in December. Do you think that that's a reasonable thing to say considering that it's?

Tim Wilson: I think the government needs to take the Australian community into their trust, not just on AUKUS, though that's an important part of it, to rebuild confidence. The government went into the last election saying they wouldn't introduce a series of new taxes. They've done so. They've now broken trust and Australians are looking at Parliament House and the government and questioning what they can believe, and that's a conscious decision of the Albanese government. So, they need to be taking Australians into their trust, telling them what is happening because they have broken that trust and it's having a material impact on whether Australians will feel confident about their future.

Journalist: And so on the AUKUS changes, do you want them to publish how much the, say like what the savings will be?

Tim Wilson: Well, let's wait and see whether the government actually understands the consequences. I'm not convinced that they fully understand. You've got backbenchers leaking against the government, but ultimately it would be good to see numbers, build confidence, build trust so that Australians can look to their democracy and believe that it's serving them.

Journalist: Does the Coalition support these changes in AUKUS that would see us have these three used submarines? It's a bit of a change to what we originally…

Tim Wilson: We still don't even have the details from the government to be able to say whether we can support it or not. What we want is a robust national defence and security environment with the material we need to protect Australians and our way of life. And instead, what we have is a budget that is knee-capping Australian households and small business, and it now seems like we have a defence program that is in slight disarray because of the decisions of the Albanese government.

Journalist: I understand you haven't seen the details, but does three used subs sound like a good deal?

Tim Wilson: Until we see the detail, it's very hard to comment. But what I do know is that this Albanese government has been knee-capping Australian households and small businesses in their budget, and now it looks like they're trying to find ways to navigate themselves through a crisis of their own making.

[ENDS]