Wednesday 20 August 2025

 

EO&E

Ben Fordham: 

Tim Wilson is the Shadow Minister for Small Business. The Liberal MP is live on the line. Tim, good morning to you.

Tim Wilson: 

Good morning, Ben.

Ben Fordham: 

So the ATO, they do have a job to do, right which is to collect debts. But during the pandemic, they were very understanding with people about when they're able to pay and how much they could pay. That attitude seems to have gone out the window recently.

Tim Wilson: 

Yeah, the ATO does have a job to do. It is to collect money for the revenue of the country. But the flip side is they should actually be focused on making sure they get the money in the long run. There's no point in putting a viable business out of business simply because they want revenue in the short term. So it's a matter of how they work with small businesses so they can survive and grow and of course get the tax debt that's owed. And it's important to also be mindful that behind every small business is a human being who's backing themselves to get ahead.

Ben Fordham: 

Yeah, the tax accountant who spoke to us this week says they're not worried about productivity and growth. The ATO only cares about collecting revenue and that is killing business.

Tim Wilson: 

Well, that's right. And you know, tax debts are not an insignificant challenge for a lot of small businesses. They accrue, they rack up. And so when people are forced to pay them out, it can often be a big chunk of the available cash they've got. But we're hearing increasingly disturbing stories where it's impacting people's mental health in some cases, tragically. And so we want to make sure that when the tax office is pursuing tax debts, that they're mindful, they're aware, and that if people have got issues, at least they've got a platform or a voice, so that both sides of the issue is being heard, it's not just the ATO.

Ben Fordham: 

So what are you proposing?

Tim Wilson: 

So we're running shadow ministerial inquiries if anybody wants to bring forward their stories anonymously or of course on the public record to reach out to us. You can go to timwilsonmp.com.au and flick them through and we'll talk and engage with you and give them a national voice, as I said, anonymously or attributed, it's up to you. And we will, as we go along, decide whether to do public hearings if there are people who want to put their story on the front foot.

Ben Fordham: 

We appreciate you letting us know about that. This is Tim Wilson, the Shadow Minister for Small Business. I know that you come from an electorate with a strong Jewish population. I'm keen to get your thoughts on the comment that's been made by the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. He says history will remember Anthony Albanese for what he is, a weak politician who's betrayed Israel and abandoned Australia's Jews.

Tim Wilson: 

I couldn't have said that better myself. I mean the reality is this government has burned the relationship between us and one of our allies. We now have a situation where we're denying visas to politicians because they don't like terrorist organisations, which frankly is absurd. And I'm deeply distressed about the trajectory of the relationship as the only democracy in the Middle East. You know, we can have disagreements with countries from time to time, but to burn the relationship like we're doing right now is frankly going to do long-term damage to us as much as it is to the relationship itself.

Ben Fordham: 

How's the productivity roundtable going in Canberra?

Tim Wilson: 

Well, it doesn't seem to be very productive at the moment. The government, apart from a couple of pre-approved statements that they seem to want to get out and agreeing to a policy that the Coalition put to the last election, which they poo-pooed at the time, doesn't se em to be achieving much. You know, we should all want it to be successful, let's be clear. Because the consequence might be improved, stands a living for every Australian. But this is a government going to a roundtable in search of a purpose because it has no vision for the future of our country.

Ben Fordham: 

We appreciate your time this morning, Tim. Talk to you again soon.

ENDS