Wednesday, 9 September 2026

Topics: Baby Tax; inflation; superannuation; digital duty of care; deepfakes; One Nation Victoria.

E&OE……………………..

Tim Wilson: This morning we've had another shocking revelation as part of the landmines in the federal budget. Today it's been revealed the government is now introducing a baby tax where there is going to be increased taxes if people in small businesses have children. I don't know what the Treasurer is doing, but there's an old saying that there's only three certainties in life: birth, death, and taxes. The Treasurer seems to have misunderstood that and is making it birth taxes, death taxes, and taxes now on taxes. The Australian community is sick of this budget and it’s targeting their wealth, their aspiration, and their hope for the future. The question now is: is the Prime Minister going to humiliate his Treasurer for the fourth time and get him to repeal this tax, or is the Prime Minister going to back in this tax? The government in its budget has had to make a series of humiliating backdowns on taxes in spaces around small business, we've seen it in the space around trusts, and of course now the question is: will the Treasurer be forced into a fourth humiliating backdown by the Prime Minister, or is the Prime Minister going to back in the baby tax? This government does not know what it’s doing. It has an active inflation agenda. Its active inflation agenda is focused on stoking inflation, then taxing the inflation, then spending the inflation, in a vicious cycle that is making Australians less well-off, and where Australians are going backwards. We're seeing this in house prices, how we're seeing a smash in confidence, rising rents, but not a drop in the price of first homes. What we have is a government that is addicted to inflation, and as a consequence the wealth and wages of the Australian community is going backwards.

Journalist: One Nation's superannuation plan they want to be brought forward before the next election, and they want to introduce it to Parliament. Do you think that's something the Coalition would be able to back?

Tim Wilson: Well, we would have to see what their plan is. They don't seem to understand what their plan is. They don't seem to understand the economic consequences of what they've put forward. They don't seem to understand the economic impact, and so until we saw it, we wouldn't, of course, have any conversation. We're not focused on their policy. We're focused on developing our own policies and offering a bold and optimistic vision and an alternative for this country.

Tim Wilson: We have a government that is seeking to divide Australians around the kitchen tables of the nation. We have One Nation engaged in woke identity politics that wants to divide people on things like race and religion. Our focus is on bringing Australians together and building a country where hard work pays off, where Australians are in control of their lives, and there's a basic sense of respect and national unity and purpose.

Journalist: Sorry, what's your definition of woke?

Tim Wilson: Well, my definition, and their focus, is right-wing woke is focused on dividing people based on identity and based on identifying people on the basis of race and religion. I see people with equal dignity and worth, and my focus is on making sure that we have a nation where everybody is respected, and that we have a sense of national purpose and national unity.

Journalist: We also saw yesterday the digital duty of care laws, the draft legislation coming forward. Do you personally believe that algorithms are good for the Australian public?

Tim Wilson: Well, I think that algorithms exist because they're designed to encourage people to stay on platforms. Personally, I don't think doom scrolling is a very healthy activity. But what the government needs to do is give confidence to the Australian community that this isn't a back door pathway to censorship. We know the government’s history on this. They tried to shut down freedom of information so that the media couldn't do their jobs and hold them to account. We know with their misinformation and disinformation legislation, they've been focused on silencing and censoring voices that they don't agree with, or they don't want in the public domain. And now we're seeing this algorithm legislation which gives the Minister extraordinary powers along with other legislation which is focused on giving the Minister extraordinary powers. When you have a government that has a clear, established, and justified reputation for lying to the Australian people as the Prime Minister and his ministers have done, people have every right to be sceptical because this government cannot be trusted by their own record 50 times over.

Journalist: Is the Coalition divided on this though. We've seen colleagues like Zoe McKenzie push for effectively something like this.

Tim Wilson: Not at all. Our focus is on making sure that legislation is right and focused around empowering Australians to have control over their lives. And what we don't want is the government to use it as a vehicle for back door censorship and silencing of voices. I said before, I believe in Australia where hard work pays off, Australians are in control of their lives, and there's a basic sense of respect and national unity and purpose, and I don't think that proper legislation can be inconsistent with that. What is inconsistent with that is a lying government using it as a back door pathway to engage in censorship and silence.

Journalist: The Greens have said this is a step in the right direction. So, if it sounds like they're going to support it, is the coalition effectively dealing themselves out of these negotiations?

Tim Wilson: It doesn't shock me that the Greens have no concern about government censorship and silence. They have been an active participant in trying to find ways to shut down voices that they don't like. It's what old, battle-axe socialists do. When reality confronts their mad progressive ideology, their answer is to shut down those voices and stop Australians hearing different views. So, I'm not surprised one iota they don't have these concerns. It doesn't matter. We're going to stand up for the Australian people against a dishonest, deceitful, and by their own standard, lying government.

Journalist: Have you ever been a victim of a deepfake?

Tim Wilson: It's entirely possible I may have been a victim and not been aware of being targeted by a deepfake.

Journalist: What do you make of One Nation’s state political showing in your in your home state?

Tim Wilson: I’m going to leave that to them. They've got to answer for their own candidates, but, it does feel sometimes like there's a bit of a circus going on, and that's why we're focused on making sure we have a very clear plan which is focused on how we bring Australians together and build a better future for this country, a nation we love, where hard work pays off, Australians are in control of their lives, and the sense of respect and unity of purpose, and to make sure that we stop Labor's corruption, we stop Labor's taxation, we end Labor's inflation, and we back small business to grow and invest.

[ENDS]