Wednesday, 12 August 2026

Transcript- Interview on ABC Radio National, Breakfast

Topics: interest rates; housing; small businesses; migration; Japanese PM.

E&OE……………………..

Sally Sara: Tim Wilson is the Shadow Treasurer. I spoke with him earlier. Tim, welcome back to Radio National Breakfast.

Tim Wilson: Thank you for having me, and can I just say what a bang-up job I think you're doing.

Sally Sara: Thank you. Thank you. Now, interest rates firstly. Michele Bullock warned yesterday that the Reserve Bank may deliver another rate hike. Do you think we need another one?

Tim Wilson: Well, the government's forcing the Reserve Bank to consider these options. The Reserve Bank Governor said yesterday at the last bank meeting, they weren't going to consider interest rate hikes. At this one, they considered whether to hold rates where they are or increase them. The problem the Reserve Bank has is the government keeps daring them not to increase interest rates. They continue to spend beyond their means, which means that there's inflationary pressure, and the pain is borne by households.

Sally Sara: Michele Bullock also said the housing downturn was not one of her main concerns. Should the public be relaxed about the conditions in the housing market right now with what we're seeing?

Tim Wilson: One of the things that concerns me greatly about the housing downturn is not just the drop of wealth Australians have, but many small businesses have their finance backed up against the security of their home. Because of what the government has done in its latest budget, there will be revaluations and refinance triggers as people move over to different structures to address the economic wreckage left by the Albanese Government's budget. It's going to put a lot of small businesses in a position either where they have less money to keep their business going, or they're not going to be able to get it at the same price. We already have record small business insolvencies. I don't want to see more of them because of the conscious decisions of the Albanese Government.

Sally Sara: Let's look at housing more specifically. Your colleague, Shadow Housing Minister Andrew Bragg, will address the National Press Club in Canberra today outlining housing policies, including a proposal to replace thousands of pages of the National Construction Code with 80 pages instead. Is there a risk of discarding regulations that are important for safety and liveability, the quality of our housing?

Tim Wilson: That isn't the intention at all. The focus is making sure that regulation doesn't become a limitation on building new housing supply. The current government has delivered the worst of all outcomes for housing: higher rents, as their budget explicitly says it was designed to do, increases in the price of first homes, so making it less affordable for young Australians to buy their first home, to reduce the available housing stock, again, a deliberate design of their budget, and smashing confidence in the housing market. It's not even a trifecta, it's a quadrella of disaster. And what we want to do is make sure that people can go on, build housing, invest in it, make a buck, because if people can't, they won't invest in it, and of course, have the housing supply so young Australians can afford to rent and then can go on and afford to buy their own home.

Sally Sara: Senator Bragg proposes making energy efficiency requirements optional. Given what we've seen in Europe over this summer with people sweltering in houses that are not built to withstand high temperatures, are there risks to that approach potentially?

Tim Wilson: Well, there are risks in all sides. We have a risk that Australians can't afford to rent or to buy their own home by the government's own budget design. We need housing stock that meets different needs in different environmental conditions. Queensland is not the same as Tasmania or Victoria; Western Australia is different again, and so, we shouldn't have a one-size-fits-all solution to housing stock in this country. It should be based on need, and of course, we also need to be realistic about this. You know, there are some places in the country where you will get cold spells or hot spells for a very small amount of the year, whereas for the rest of the year, it's not necessary. So, we always manage those challenges. Some people call it putting a jumper on in winter rather than spending huge amounts of money, tens of thousands of dollars. It's about a sense of balance and getting the balance right.

Sally Sara: Senator Bragg also put forward a proposal to address what he argues is a gap between migration and housing construction figures by ensuring that net overseas migration averages less than 180,000 over a four-year period. What economic risks need to be managed when trying to slash migration figures?

Tim Wilson: Well, we know the objective of migration has to be that it works in Australia's national interest, that we're bringing in people who will come to this country, commit to this country, and contribute to its long-term success. And that's essential for the economic integration of new Australians, the cultural and social integration of new Australians, and so then we're bringing in the right skills that our country needs to do things like building housing stock. So, it's about having a sense of proportionality, a sense of balance in migration so that it works for Australia and for our long-term interest.

Sally Sara: You're listening to Radio National Breakfast. I'm speaking with the Shadow Treasurer, Tim Wilson. Your colleagues, Shadow Minister for Defence James Paterson and Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs Ted O'Brien, have written to the Federal Police about what they call the "possibly unlawful disclosure" of confidential and sensitive correspondence from the Government of Japan to the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. This is regarding the podcast conversation between the Prime Minister and a podcaster about melons and referring to the Japanese Prime Minister. Who's the opposition trying to smoke out with that letter?

Tim Wilson: I think what we're seeking to do is make sure that Australia's relationship with one of our most important economic and security partners is healthy and robust.

Sally Sara: Are you making it worse?

Tim Wilson: Well, not at all, because the person who has made it worse, unfortunately, is our sort of Sir Les Patterson-style Prime Minister, who seems to be engaging in vulgar behaviour. I accept the fact that people make mistakes. The responsible thing is to own the consequences and to learn from them and admit error so that we can move on. Instead, what we have is a sort of denial of the situation. We have former Japanese ambassador out there smoking out the Prime Minister, which I think shows just how serious the situation has now got. But what we also don't want is a long-term deterioration and a decline in trust in the relationship with one of our most important economic and security partners.

Sally Sara: Tim Wilson, thank you for coming in this morning.

Tim Wilson: Thank you.

[ENDS]