The Hon Tim Wilson MP
Shadow Minister for Small Business
Shadow Minister for Industrial Relations and Employment
Member for Goldstein

Thursday 12 February 2026

Transcript - Interview on 2GB with Ben Fordham and Jane Hume

Topics: Leadership

E&OE

 

Ben Fordham: Okay, let's bring in Tim Wilson and we'll talk to both of these Liberal MPs at once. Tim Wilson, good morning to you. Who are you going to be voting for?  

Tim Wilson MP: Well Ben, first I want to clarify, as far as I'm aware Jane and I are still friends so I don't see why we will be again. It's just a continuum. Second, she's right, there's no spill, but I don't agree with Jane. I don't think we've had a bad week in Liberal land, because at the end of the day, some of us in our focus has been squarely on making sure that we hold the Albanese government to account to things like the $15 billion of cartel kickbacks of public money that have washed through the CFMEU and that cartel of corruption. The question comes down to... Who's focused on those things? Who's focussed on making sure that we're holding Labor to account because Australians want to see us fighting for them, not ourselves.  

Ben Fordham: Okay, Australians also want straight answers, so Jane, let me put it this way, if there's a spill on Friday or whenever this week, who will you be voting for? I think everyone knows it's Angus Taylor.

Sen. Jane Hume: Yeah, Ben, my frustration overflowed on Monday morning when I did a regular TV slot. The polls were terrible. There was no doubt about that. The coalition had just got back together and I looked down and, you know, I think I'm not revealing any secrets when I say I looked at the talking points that I'd been given and I just, I couldn't believe them. They were incredible. There was this whole nothing to see here, everything's terrific. I thought that's just nonsense. We are now in a position where we're not compared to the Labor in a two-party preferred status because no one is voting for us. No one is listening to us. Now Tim's right when we focus on the job at hand which is fighting Labor, taking the fight up to Labor, holding this government to account, that is when we are at our best. Tim has done a terrific job of that this week uncovering this incredible deep-seated corruption in the CFMEU. I know my Senate colleagues are doing that just this week in Senate estimates. We have the RBA appearing before us today to discuss the fact that interest rates have now gone up 13 times under Labor. But the problem is, if nobody is listening to us, we are not a credible alternative and something has to change.

Ben Fordham: Tim, you believe Sussan Ley deserves more time?

Tim Wilson MP: Well I've said consistently I'll support the leader. Now there has been a spill motion and I'm waiting to see who the candidates are who are going to put up before I make any decision about what I'm going to do. That's the sensible and rational thing. If a motion to spill the leadership is successful I want to hear out the candidates because what I want is clarity and vision about where we need to go because we do need to be revealing clearly who we're fighting for and I believe that the hundreds of thousands and millions of small businesses out there in Australia who are doing it tough need a strong voice who's going to stand up for them and more importantly fight for them against the problems of inflation, taxation inflation, industrial relations inflation and everything that has seen record small business insolvencies under this government.

Ben Fordham: Jane, what do you like about Angus Taylor?

Sen. Jane Hume: Look, I've worked very closely with Angus Taylor. I think he is a very deep thinker and a great intellect in our party. He's got incredible experience at a number of portfolios. He's, you know, he's very good in city seats, but he comes from a country seat himself and is a naturally a country boy. You know, he's a very human being. He is a human human. Does that make sense? He's actually, he's quite, shy. I know he puts out an air of confidence and he absolutely should because he has a lot to be confident about but he has lovely family and an amazing wife. I think you can always tell an awful lot about a person by looking at their family and I think he'll actually be a terrific leader.

Ben Fordham: What do you think Tim, does Angus have what it takes to connect with the average Aussie?

Tim Wilson MP: Well, I think Agus is a great bloke and we get along very well, but I'll be making my decision on this through one lens, which is who's going to lead, who has the courage to stand up and fight, and more importantly has a track record of turning, let's face it, impossible circumstances into unlikely victories. And what I want is clarity about how we're going to turn the ship around, how they're going to unite a team, focus a team and storm the citadel because what we need is Liberal governance in this country backed up by substantial policy that will define the future of Australia that's enlivened by an animating vision and most importantly Australians see us fighting for them and for their future.

Ben Fordham: And Tim, have you spoken to Sussan Ley, how's she going?

Tim Wilson MP: Well, I haven't seen her since the announcement last night. The last time I saw her was when I was with the president of Israel and we were talking about the scourge of anti-Semitism that has gone on in Australia and led to one of the most tragic terrorist incidents in our nation and how we have to find resolve and unity to make sure we confront that threat because it's going to be the front line of our national defence.

Ben Fordham: I want to thank both of you for joining us this morning, Tim Wilson and Jane Hume. Thank you so much.

ENDS