Thursday, 28 August 2025


E&OE

Sally Sara:

The Coalition has continued to press the Albanese government on its response to antisemitism after ASIO revealed Iran orchestrated arson attacks in Sydney and Melbourne on Jewish sites. The government has expelled the Iranian ambassador to Australia. The first time it's taken such an action since World War II and it plans to designate Iran's Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist group. Tim Wilson is the Shadow Minister for Small Business, Industrial Relations and Employment and also the returned member for the electorate of Goldstein. Tim Wilson, welcome back to Breakfast.

Tim Wilson:

Well, thank you for having me.

Sally Sara:

How are you on this fine morning after the midwinter ball? I must ask you first.

Tim Wilson:

Well, since I didn't go to the midwinter ball, I am peachy and dandy, but I am wondering what the collective noun of Tims is in comparison to Panthers.

Sally Sara:

A tam, I'm guessing.

Tim Wilson:

A tam? Yes. I'll take that very much.

Sally Sara:

Indeed. Now, if we're looking at the issues that we're dealing with in federal politics at the moment, when it comes to industrial relations, the government is trying to enshrine penalty rates in legislation. It's expected to pass the Senate today. Why are you opposed to it?

Tim Wilson:

Well, we haven't said we're opposed at all. We support penalty rates. The government is trying to gaslight Australians by putting legislation through because what they're focused on is their legislative victory lap. What we're concerned about is what's the impact going to be on small business and the unintended consequences of their legislation.

They've said there's not going to any unintended consequences. In the House of Representatives, the Minister said that there would be no retrospective changes to existing award arrangements to the awards from the legislation. In the Senate, the Minister acting for Minister Rishworth is saying something different. So we have one Minister saying one thing in the House, another Minister saying something different in the Senate. We have no idea anymore what the Government's position is and now is increasingly in question whether the Minister responsible has misled the House of Representatives. So that's the question is, what's the impact on small business and in particular is there a retrospective element to this legislation and Minister Rishworth needs to come clean.

Sally Sara:

The right to disconnect laws have been operating for a year now. The sky hasn't fallen in, according to the Minister Amanda Rishworth. Do you concede that they are now a functional part of the system?

Tim Wilson:

Well, no one's ever argued that the sky was going to fall in. That's this is the sort of hyperventilation that this Minister is engaged with. Like the the debate we just had or the topic we just raised. She's saying a number of things that are a bunch of hot air. The question is, what's actually the practical effect? And it's reflective of this government. Yeah, you have small businesses on the ground, you have workers on the ground and the only solution the government has is to get in between those relationships with Australians and insert themselves thinking they're the answer. What we want is harmony and practical working relationships with between Australians to get the best outcomes, to improve economic outcomes, human relationships and harmony in the workplace and that's the focus of our policy and where we want to see workplaces in Australia because that's the best outcomes we get, productivity and standards of living improvements for Australians.

Sally Sara:

On anti-Semitism, how concerned are you by ASIO's revelations that Iran orchestrated a couple of attacks including one on the Adas synagogue which is near your electorate in Melbourne?

Tim Wilson:

Deeply concerned and and I'm not alone in this. Of course, I know that I would hope every member of parliament Liberal Labor, whatever Branding you carry any Australian is deeply concerned. We have foreign interference and foreign actors working through criminal organisations or criminal actors within Australia and sponsoring them to engage in violent acts to destroy property and potentially risk lives and of course to inflame tensions within the Australian community but these were not unknown or limited risks. The Coalition has gone out and warned consistently that this is a serious risk over the past couple of years and called for the listing of the Iranian regime as a terrorist organisation and now we're in a situation where the government has finally done so on the advice of ASIO. We only wish they had have done it earlier.

Sally Sara:

What did in the Coalition?

Tim Wilson:

Well, we obviously haven't been in government for the past three years, so that would be a pretty clear reason why we need to...

Sally Sara:

Because it was on it was a discussion that was happening previously.

Tim Wilson:

There's been a constant conversation. We listed Hezbollah and Hamas as terrorist organisations and obviously these things come down to the advice at different times to make sure that we accumulate the evidence to do so. But when it comes down to it we are of course we always welcome the decision of the government to have taken this step at this time. And the most important thing is that the actions have been taken now, even if we wish they had of been done earlier because we believe the evidence was clearer earlier because right now Australia...

Sally Sara:

Wasn't it? ASIO's only just come out now.

Tim Wilson:

Well, I actually think, yes, I think it was pretty clear that there was a clear interest from the Iranian regime, all the way from the...

Sally Sara:

But interest and evidence are different things.

Tim Wilson:

I think when you look at the events of October 7 and the sponsoring of Hamas in the actions of not just Hamas and Hezbollah in the events October 7, and everything has cascaded since then from October 7. It's been pretty clear they've been involved in trying to inflame tensions in Israel and around the world.

That is what has now come to light explicitly since in the past couple of days, but has been pretty clear since that point. And the consequence has been to human life, to property, but to social cohesion in Israel, in Australia and around the world. And of course we want a nation that is cohesive, we want a nation that's respectful, we want a nation where people come together and seek to advance the objectives and national interests together. And when we have an environment where foreign actors are ceding discontent and turning Australians against each other, that is a deeply distressing environment and that is not a place that we want our country to go.

Sally Sara:

Tim Wilson, thank you for your time this morning. Thank you. Tim Wilson is the Member for Goldstein.

ENDS