Monday 11 May 2026

Transcript – Interview with James Willis, 2GB, Money News

Topics: Federal budget

E&OE....

James Willis: Let's now go to the Shadow Treasurer in the opposition, Tim Wilson. He's on the line for us tonight. Tim, thanks for your time.

Tim Wilson: Thanks for having me.

James Willis: Before we get into the ins and outs and your plan, and I'm keen to get a couple of little bits from what you're proposing as the alternative government, but before that, we have to just say politically, this is a shocking broken promise—one of the worst I can recall.

Tim Wilson: Well, it's a fundamental betrayal of the trust that was given to the government at the last election. You know, the Prime Minister was red-hot with rage at journalists when he said fifty times over, "I've said I'm not changing negative gearing or capital gains or trusts," and of course now he's going to break that exact promise. And so I think people have every right to turn around and say they're pretty wrinkled with the decision.

James Willis: So, do you run the risk if you oppose this—and by the way, what elements of this are you proposing if what Phil Coorey is reporting is correct? Are you saying that there should be no scaling back of the discount applied to capital gains tax of 50% across the board? Are you opposing that flat out?

Tim Wilson: Well, we're not making a decision until we see the nuts and bolts and the details, but I've said publicly it's very hard to see how you could support not just a betrayal of trust, but something that's going to smash small business. We already have record small business insolvencies in this country and the government's answer to it is to target them even further.

James Willis: So, what is—do you run the risk here though, Tim, of ostracizing yourself and the Liberal Party with young voters, given it is being reported tonight that if they remove this capital gains tax discount and make changes to negative gearing, it will bring house prices down and will allow more young people to get into the housing market for the first time? If you oppose what Labor is suggesting and offering, do you run the risk of ostracizing yourself with young voters?

Tim Wilson: You know James, we've got a website, www.notthetax.com.au, where we're taking submissions from the public about what the impact of these taxes is going to be. And what we're getting back is stories from young Australians just saying, "Hey, I saved, I invested in the market so that I could increase my savings and now the government's going to double the tax on my house deposit and it's going to push me further behind, not move me further behind." So I think young Australians are waking up to this change and what it means for them, and it's not just an issue of betrayal of trust, but it's going to branch out into the value of backing themselves and being self-starters.

James Willis: Can I just ask on a separate issue, and there has been a lot of discussion about Labor potentially moving towards a universal childcare model where every Australian, from the richest to the poorest, would have some sort of access to a childcare subsidy. The Finance Minister, Katy Gallagher, told the Australian—and I'd just be keen for your response to this—that the earlier children are put into childcare, the better prepared they will be for school. Now there'd be a lot of moms and dads listening to that rhetoric from a senior minister and disagreeing with that. What say you?

Tim Wilson: Well, I think there would be a lot of moms and dads who'd look at that. These are not factories for children to go and be cared for. We need to make sure that children have the best environment to flourish and grow. Of course, parents need support with that if they're working, but that includes making sure that parents have choice. And we're in favour of parents having choice, so it's the best outcome for their decision based on their children.

James Willis: So that would mean what? So that if the money is available for a family, that could go to the grandparents, it could go to a family member? Is that legitimate what we're going to see from the opposition in the next few days as an alternative policy?

Tim Wilson: Well, we'll announce that at the appropriate time, but we've made it clear by appointing a Shadow Minister for Childcare Choice that choice is at the centre of our approach, not a one-size-fits-all policy which is what Labor likes to do. I think that parents should have agency and control over their children and how they grow up.

James Willis: Just lastly, you would have been watching this closely, but I think the other concern that has been highlighted by a number of journalists that understand this space, Tim, is that there is more and more spending off the books that the average person can't discover. We're talking billions of dollars that is being pushed off the books in spending that Labor sort of isn't being as fully transparent as they should be. You would be concerned by that as well, I'm sure.

Tim Wilson: Well, absolutely. I mean, we've got essentially two budgets now: the real budget and the shadow budget. And the shadow budget outlines spending but the government isn't reporting back where the money's going. And we find out often when programs have gotten too big or exploded in cost, and eventually they have to peer it in. And so that's why we set three tests for this budget. The first one was around restoring living standards, the second one was restoring Australia's security, and the third one was restoring honest government because it's a dishonesty that's now swirling around this budget that's its biggest problem.

James Willis: Tim, we really appreciate your time. Thank you.

Tim Wilson: Take care.

[ENDS]