Wednesday, 4 November 2026

Topics: interest rates; inflation; spending; housing; energy.

E&OE……………………..

Ben Fordham: Australia is more than just a little bit angry this morning. The Reserve Bank has smashed mortgage holders. They've lifted the official cash rate for the first, second, third, fourth, fifth time this year. So, it's the highest it's been in 18 years. And to put it in perspective, on a 30-year $600,000 loan, mortgage holders are going to have to find an extra $100 a month. So that's going to be a tough ask. So many families are already struggling. Jim Chalmers is trying to deflect responsibility. The Treasurer maintains the conflict in the Middle East is the primary cause, even though the RBA Governor, Michele Bullock, says the problem started well before the war broke out. Tim Wilson is the Shadow Treasurer. He's live in the studio. Tim, good morning to you.

Tim Wilson: Good morning, Ben.

Ben Fordham: Jim doesn't get it.

Tim Wilson: He doesn't get it, and he continues to blame and deflect the problem. Government spending is causing this problem. Yesterday, Michelle Bulock, the Reserve Bank Governor, went out there very clearly and said this is a domestic problem, and the only way we're going to fix it is if the government pulls in its belt. Instead, they're turning around to households right now who are making tough choices and saying you've got to pull in your belt. Families at the moment, Ben, are making decisions about can they afford to send their kids on school excursions or school camp, and the government won't do anything to fix it.

Ben Fordham: We always hear from government, regardless of what side of politics is in power, that we respect the independence and the word of the Reserve Bank. So let me read what Michele Bullock says: "We have a domestic, homegrown inflation problem."

Tim Wilson: Yeah, it's not subtle, and what she's calling out, she basically kneecapped the Treasurer before he gave his press conference. We have a homegrown problem. The government keeps spending. They're addicted to it, and so you're not seeing a change in behaviour. Every time we call on the government to pull in its belt, it says no and wants to put the responsibility back on the Australian people. And let's be very clear about this: most developed countries have had one interest rate hike this year. Australia has now had five. That is a completely different scenario, and it shows the local problem is the one that is leading to higher prices.

Ben Fordham: What are you hearing from Australian families at the moment? You would have been hearing these loud noises well before yesterday's RBA call.

Tim Wilson: Absolutely, because people are now paying about $31,000, $32,000 more every year on their mortgage since the Albanese Government was elected. People are saying they can't afford to keep their home. Some people are obviously selling in a market where prices are falling. But a lot of families are just having to make tough calls. They go to the supermarket, they're paying more and they're getting less in their red basket or their trolley, or they're making tough calls: can we afford to have a birthday party for the kids?

Ben Fordham: I know it's not just one issue that causes these things, but if we were going to identify one, we've got to go back to the budget, don't we? I mean, from the budget onwards, that's when the property market tanked and that's when the whole country lost confidence.

Tim Wilson: 100%. We've basically got a taxaholic Treasurer with Jim Chalmers, who is always trying to find ways to cover the black holes he's creating without actually looking at where he can cut spending so that he can actually pull his belt in and make it easier for Australian households to afford. And of course, what we've seen is the real decline in confidence in the property market, where a lot of people in the past five years are now basically back to where they were five years ago. Wages are going backwards. The RBA yesterday said wages are going to fall, unemployment's going to rise, and we're going to see continued declines in house prices and we're going to see a failure in new builds.

Ben Fordham: We had a real estate agent, Matt Hayson, sitting in the same chair you're in right now yesterday. He was saying get ready, because it's going to become a whole lot worse. He says, look, what you see and read in the data is about three to six months behind what we see and feel on the ground. He says the mood at the moment is worse than what you're reading and hearing, so brace yourself for what's coming over the next six months.

Tim Wilson: Well, that's what worries me. It's not even six months, it's 12 months. Yesterday, the Reserve Bank's Statement on Monetary Policy, their fancy document, said completion of existing new homes, but there's not going to be a commissioning of new homes. Inflation and interest rates are going to keep rates where they are throughout all of next year. So, if anybody's looking for a change in the next 12 months, I'm afraid to say that it is going to continue to be a real problem.

Ben Fordham: The Shadow Treasurer, Tim Wilson, is with us on 2GB Breakfast. I want to have a look at some of the big spending items that we've experienced over recent years. And let's talk about the energy transition for one, because you look at the billions of dollars that have been spent in that area despite all of the warnings that Chris Bowen was given, and if I have a look right now at our latest numbers that we share every day on this program, the energy mix in the last 24 hours for New South Wales: 2% from gas, 4% from batteries, 5% from hydro, 7% from wind, 11% from solar because we had some sunshine, but still on top of the list, 71% coming from coal.

Tim Wilson: Yeah, well, because where you've got existing investment, it's going to continue to provide the power that New South Wales and Australia needs. And what we've got to get is a sense of balance back in the discussion around energy. The government keeps investing more and more of your tax dollars into projects that just aren't delivering the output, and the impact isn't just, obviously, on prices for households, it's going to continue to have an impact on jobs, and particularly for investment to build the future growth of the economy.

Ben Fordham: And it feels like with the energy transition, they didn't factor in appropriately the cost of those transmission lines, whether it's in northern New South Wales or you have a look at even Snowy 2.0 and what's happening with Snowy. Look at the cost blowouts on Snowy 2.0.

Tim Wilson: That's right. And this is the arrogance at the end of the day of this government. They think they can design everything through central planning and they have a solution. Australians are paying a very high price for the Albanese Government and its arrogance, and of course, Chris Bowen. And it's not going to change anytime soon. Unemployment is projected to rise next year to go up to 5.1%. We haven't been above 5% for years, and that's 50,000 jobs at least further to go. We've had announcements today from Canva, we had National Australia Bank last week. Australians can't afford this government's arrogance.

Ben Fordham: Another big spending item is the National Disability Insurance Scheme. And when we could all see that the blowouts were out of control and the rorts were happening left, right and centre, Bill Shorten sat on his hands.

Tim Wilson: Well, to be fair to Bill Shorten, he tried to do some legislative fixes when it was too late, but Albo came over the top and ruled out any changes. Now they've been dragged kicking and screaming to acknowledging they've been funding organised crime, corruption, and fraud. They've put forward plans, and the auditors have come back and said, we're not convinced you're going to achieve this level of savings at all. We don't believe the agency can do it. There was a report on Monday, questions about whether the National Disability Insurance Agency can deliver it. So, until that happens, Australians’ honest taxpayers' money is going towards funding crime and fraud.

Ben Fordham: And there seems to be this argument going on within the Albanese Government and the core decision-makers there in Canberra about who's really to blame over some of these decisions over, you know, when there were proposals to cut spending and then it was overruled. Is Anthony Albanese to blame? Is Jim Chalmers to blame? They're both secretly pointing the finger at each other.

Tim Wilson: Well, this is the thing, we've got a government now where no one's taking responsibility. The Treasurer is always blaming international factors, Iran, Ukraine, everything except accepting responsibility himself. The Prime Minister seems to want to overrule any decision we've got. The only plan they've got to cut spending, Ben, is to remove private health insurance from over-65s. I've never seen more false economics than that, but to punch down on pensioners is disgraceful.

Ben Fordham: A question from Dion: "Ben, can you please ask Tim, what would he do right now to help curb inflation?"

Tim Wilson: We'd cut spending, and we've made it very clear. We've got $31.3 billion of savings we've outlined from climate bureaucracies that don't cut emissions, housing bureaucracies that don't build homes, ending welfare for future non-citizens, crushing the illegal tobacco market. At the moment, we're losing tax revenue to organised crime. We want to stop that and we want to change it so that people are buying legal tobacco, not financing organised crime and firebombing shops.

Ben Fordham: We know that traditionally it's not a case of political parties winning elections, it's the parties in power who lose them, and that creates the opportunity for the opposition to come in. If it wasn't for One Nation, you guys would be home and hosed.

Tim Wilson: Well, let's not focus on them, let’s focus on what the Australian people need. Australians need hope. Think about all those small businesses, Ben, who are facing real challenges out there, struggling to keep their doors open. The ATO is coming after them like a pack of Rottweilers, and they're just struggling to keep their staff employed. And my focus is making sure they have hope, and Australians have hope, because we need a pathway forward, where they believe tomorrow can be better.

Ben Fordham: You can choose to ignore One Nation, but you've got to accept the fact that while people are looking for alternatives, they're not all looking in your direction.

Tim Wilson: I accept that, but this is why we've got to be better. We've got to give Australians confidence about the way forward, and most importantly for those struggling small businesses out there, the people who are driving this economy and facing ridiculous penalties, you talked before about $19,000 for exit signs, this is ridiculous. We've got to change the conversation. We need a growth-oriented economy again, instead of what we have at the moment, a government that simply is trying to strangle small business.

Ben Fordham: Just lastly, the businessman Mark Bouris says that Anthony Albanese should have sacked Jim Chalmers. What do you say?

Tim Wilson: He should have sacked him a long time ago because he won't take responsibility for the decisions he's making, and he continues to make. But truthfully, the Prime Minister should be gone, too, because he is the one who has led this ship as it heads increasingly towards an iceberg. We have a Titanic Treasurer, and he is sinking the Australian economy.

Ben Fordham: We appreciate you dropping by the studio. Have a good day.

Tim Wilson: Thanks, Ben.

[ENDS]