Wednesday, 27 May 2026

Transcript - Interview on 2GB Drive

Topics: Capital gains tax, Inflation, Fuel excise

E&OE...

Clinton Maynard: The Shadow Treasurer joins me. Hello, Tim.

Tim Wilson: Hello, Clinton.

Clinton Maynard: You're on the wrong side of Milton Dick. What did you do wrong?

Tim Wilson: Well, we've highlighted throughout the week that the Prime Minister told a few fibs before an election and has gone on to introduce new taxes after the election. And when we come up to make these points and interject when the Prime Minister gets up to the dispatch box, he won't answer questions. We're calling him out and apparently that's unruly.

Clinton Maynard: So Milton Dick said that you were not assisting because you'd been interjecting so much that it was eating up some of the allotted time. You gave a little bow towards the Speaker at one point, but that didn't help your cause.

Tim Wilson: Well, you give a bow on your way in and out of the chamber, so that's the standard respect to the chair and I always do it as does every other member. But it wasn't taking up time. The problem is the Prime Minister won't be honest with the Australian people and he keeps digging himself into a deeper pit of lies and deception of the Australian community. It's our job to hold him to account. He's getting very cranky, very angry because people can see through the deceit and people no longer believe him or trust him.

Clinton Maynard: And I'll ask you about the CGT changes with legislation to go to parliament tomorrow. But just finally on this one, Tim. You made a tweet that Anthony Albanese wouldn't answer the question on CGT. These are the incentives under the Albanese government: deceive the public and you become PM, expose the deceit and you get ejected from QT. Well, Milton Dick didn't like what you had to say there and he said that, "I ask when he returned to the chamber he apologized to the chair and remind members not to reflect on the chair in the chamber or on social media." So did you do the wrong thing by making that tweet?

Tim Wilson: Well, that's a contestable point but for any offense caused I am happy to apologize to the Speaker who I get along very well with. There's no intention to reflect on him, the only reflection is on the Prime Minister, his dishonesty, his lies, and the fact that in the Albanese government the incentive is if you deceive the public you become the Prime Minister.

Clinton Maynard: On some economic matters, inflation figures released today. Now, there is an improvement. CPI 4.2% which is down from 4.6% in March. But I should note that the underlying inflation rate or the trim mean inflation rate was 3.4% in the 12 months to April. That was up slightly from 3.3 in March. It does appear that the slight improvement in the overall figure is because fuel prices have fallen. That's got to be a good thing, isn't it?

Tim Wilson: Well, they've fallen to the extent that the government has cut taxes on them after we pushed them into it. No one's arguing the lower inflation is good but inflation is still at a level where the Reserve Bank is going to, you know, risk of increasing interest rates until you get inflation back between 2% or 3% we aren't clear of this. And we need to remember last year in March the Treasurer said we've turned the corner, he's beaten inflation and there shouldn't be a problem. Yet we know that inflation was a problem through the second half of last year. That's why interest rates went up earlier this year. Iran is compounding it, but if Iran disappeared tomorrow, Australia would still have an inflation problem.

Clinton Maynard: Fuel prices rose by 23% since February so despite the fact that we do have that excise cut. What do you fear is going to happen in July if the excise reduction isn't continued?

Tim Wilson: Well, the government keeps telling us they have more fuel than they had at the start of the crisis, so there should be no dramatic impact on prices of fuel based on their words, that or they're lying to the public again. So my hope is that it isn't the case. My much bigger concern is we have enough fertilizer for crops, we have enough diesel for freight and for farmers, and of course we have enough fuel for households because it's the full supply chain that matters particularly when you're an economy that's as dependent as ours is.

Clinton Maynard: That excise reduction though of 26 cents, should that be extended beyond the end of June?

Tim Wilson: Well, it's been cut because of an international crisis. We will wait and see whether that international crisis continues. And of course what we'd hope this time is the government provides inflation offsets because Australia still has an active inflation problem stoked by the government and we don't want to fuel that further.

Clinton Maynard: Okay. Capital gains tax, the changes go into parliament tomorrow, likely the deal's been done with the Greens to get this through the upper house. In terms of the adjustments that have been made by the Prime Minister, are you satisfied they're going to help somewhat?

Tim Wilson: No, because we need to remember the CGT changes were not going to be introduced into this parliament. They have now been or they will be introduced tomorrow and there are hundreds of thousands of small businesses who are sweating it out and wondering what the impact is going to be. Everyone who owns a share portfolio is potentially at risk of having the tax on their growth doubled. So this isn't going to fix the problem, this is just the government trying to get themselves out of their own political hole.

Clinton Maynard: The government's also saying that 92% of small businesses won't be affected.

Tim Wilson: Well, that's small businesses are not the only one affected and if you believe that number you're actually wishing small business to fail. That's how this works. The exemptions offered—

Clinton Maynard: You want them to grow and get bigger, don't you? Yes.

Tim Wilson: We want to grow and get bigger, so the government's whole plan is that Australians fail. That isn't my plan, my plan is that we should want Australians backing growth and succeed.

Clinton Maynard: Now just to clarify Tim, are you allowed to return to parliament now?

Tim Wilson: I'm walking into the chamber pretty much as we speak.

Clinton Maynard: So it was just question time you were kicked out of?

Tim Wilson: Oh, yeah, no, it's just a temporary thing because well, there will always be a diversity of opinions in question time, but the best way to keep question time calm is if the Prime Minister just tells the truth.

Clinton Maynard: Good on you Tim, get back in there.

Tim Wilson: Thanks, Clinton.

[ENDS]