Wednesday 27 May 2026

Transcript - Doorstop interview, Mural Hall Parliament House

Topics: Inflation, fuel excise, Federal budget

E&OE...

Tim Wilson: Well thank you everybody for coming this afternoon. Australia's inflation crisis persists because of the Albanese government's active inflation agenda and we know the consequence of the Treasurer continuing to pour debt petrol on the inflation fire is that Australian households are doing it tough. They're paying higher prices at the supermarket, they're paying higher prices in their mortgages and the government is slowly by stealth confiscating Australia's wages through different forms of bracket creep and the stealth tax of inflation. What Australians need now more than anything else is the Coalition's plan for a tax back guarantee. The Coalition's plan for tax back guarantee will provide for adjustment in inflation for income tax rates so when people earn their money, they risk their money, they save their money, they get to keep their money, rather than the Labor government's approach which is to simply stoke inflation, tax inflation and then spend inflation – rinse, wash, repeat – and continually keep the cycle of inflation going which is reducing the living standards of Australians right now.

Journalist: [Inaudible – question on fuel excise extension]

Tim Wilson: Well that's all contingent of course on the conditions in the Middle East but what we do know is when the Coalition led the conversation around reducing fuel excise we've helped push the government, dragged kicking and screaming, to take some pressure off, but the big question now is how they're going to respond because inflation is still above the band, inflation persists, it started before the Iran crisis, it's persisted and compounded during the Iran crisis and the challenge now is to make sure that households don't have their savings and their income stolen by stealth through inflation. That's why our tax back guarantee is designed explicitly to deal with the Albanese government's active inflation agenda which is stealing Australians’ income by stealth.

Journalist: So just for clarity when you're talking about the tax back system are you talking about the indexing tax bracket?

Tim Wilson: So, the Coalition's tax back guarantee provides for indexing of tax brackets so the Albanese government doesn't continue to stoke inflation, tax inflation and spend inflation as part of their economic model which is reducing the living standards of Australians.

Journalist: Just on the capital gains tax debate that we're in the thick of: the government has a set of policies called A Future Made in Australia where they use public money to subsidise industry mainly mining companies with big fat unionised workforces. Is that at odds with the changes that according to founders is going to drive them offshore?

Tim Wilson: What's very clear is the Albanese government doesn't understand the tax proposals it has put in its budget. We saw a footnote put in at the last minute because the government didn't understand the impact of the CGT changes on the start-up sector and those who are seeking to grow the future of the Australian economy. It's consistently been revealed the government doesn't understand the CGT measures and how they apply to different parts of the economy including young Australians who invest their first home deposit. They don't understand the impact it's going to have on employee share ownership schemes and those who use equity as part of their salary in their remuneration and the government clearly has a business model that's very clearly focused on how they feed their friends first and how they prioritise the interests of Australians second. So, the Albanese government will always look at carve-outs for their mates but it will always come at the expense of the Australian people.

Journalist: The Treasurer said a little while ago and the Prime Minister yesterday or the day before that it's quite normal for there to be consultation after a budget, it's quite normal for the full detail not to be announced in a budget. Do you buy that?

Tim Wilson: It's quite normal for a government to take increases in taxes to an election and inform the Australian people and if they're successful it's normal then that they go on and legislate them. What's not normal is a government saying 50 times over in a fit of red hot rage that they wouldn't increase certain taxes then changing the law in their first budget after an election and not even giving the explanation to the Australian people. There are so many businesses who will have looked at the last election result and said well we're not going to have changes to any of these taxes, we can get ahead and plan for our future. This government has knee-capped small businesses, it's knee-capping young Australians who desperately are trying to get ahead and now the government is negotiating with a gun held to their head.

Journalist: Tim, would the Coalition countenance any changes to negative gearing? The Greens, One Nation, they believe it should be limited to one or two homes, doesn't matter if they're new or existing.

Tim Wilson: Well what the government should do if they want to change taxes on homes, on rentals or on the future economic growth of this country they should actually take it to the Australian people. This government is going through a negotiation process now when they haven't actually had a full conversation with the Australian people and one of the things we're hoping through the Senate process is to make sure that the Albanese government is finally forced to confront the Australian people to actually ask them their opinion on their bad faith tax increases and get their input into the practical consequence. It's quite clear the Treasurer doesn't understand the tax changes he's put forward. It's quite clear the Treasurer doesn't understand how the economy operates or grows and that's why they're now scrambling because their budget is in complete disarray.

Journalist: Do you believe you're being wedged by the introduction of the legislation tomorrow?

Tim Wilson: Well, I believe that the government is wedging the Australian people because at the last election they said they wouldn't introduce these taxes now they're desperately trying to rush them through the Parliament because their budget is falling apart like a wet Woollies bag in a rainstorm. The government doesn't understand the consequence or the impact and now they're trying to run a freight train through the Australian economy in the hope that nobody will notice the full impact or when they do, they'll be forced to negotiate with the government in a situation where they've got a gun held to their head.

Journalist: But they are wedging you by including the tax offset and the $1,000 in tax reduction.

Tim Wilson: Well, we have a tax plan that will reduce taxes substantially more than the Albanese government and what they're putting forward tomorrow. The Albanese government has a plan for higher taxes, we have a plan for lower inflation and more importantly lower taxes because we do not believe that the pathway to grow the Australian economy, help Australians get ahead is to simply increase taxes and stoke inflation as Jim Chalmers is wont to do.

Journalist: You've said that Labor is knee-capping small business and the Treasurer has said that the four carve outs in place for small business regarding CGT will remain. What are we missing?

Tim Wilson: He's doubling the tax rate on small businesses when they go to sell. There are existing carve-outs, no one's disputing that but unless the Treasurer's ambition is to keep small business small, unless his ambition is to continue to punch down on small businesses and make sure they stay small, unless he is encouraging failure then these exemptions simply don't meet the needs of all small businesses in this country. There was a time in this nation where the Treasurer of the nation encouraged Australian small businesses to succeed, to grow, to profit, to get ahead and instead what we have is a Treasurer now focused on justifying his broken promises and his broken trust by wishing small business failure. I simply will not accept that future.

[ENDS]