Wednesday, 23 September 2026

Topics: superannuation; housing; One Nation; interest rates; inflation.

E&OE……………………..

Peter Stefanovic: Joining us live now, Shadow Treasurer, Tim Wilson. Do you support your colleague here, Tim, or has he stepped out of his lane again?

Tim Wilson: He's more than entitled to raise important issues around how we make sure that Australians go to retirement owning their own home and having a lifeblood of an income stream. The problem at the moment is the Labor Party wants a nation of people who are retired renters. They don't want homeowners with a superannuation balance. The Intergenerational Report outlined there's been a 10% increase in the number of Australians going to retirement renting. That's a huge jump, and frankly, the Labor Party's answer to that is to say keep renting, we want your money.

Peter Stefanovic: Sounds like you're open to his idea, though. You like it. Are you with him?

Tim Wilson: Well, it comes down to policy. We will go through the proper processes, but I've always believed that it should be home first, super second, in terms of the structure of priority.

Peter Stefanovic: So do you use this as an offset? Is that what you're thinking?

Tim Wilson: You're jumping to conclusions. The key point that we've always believed is that home ownership is central to a dignified retirement, as is a superannuation balance as an income stream, and the fullback of a pension, and we need to get the hierarchy properly in order.

Peter Stefanovic: Why go here, though, with changes to super when the electorate has been spooked twice by your moves in the past?

Tim Wilson: I don't believe that's the case at all.

Peter Stefanovic: Well, that’s what happened, isn’t it?

Tim Wilson: That wasn't the central pillar of either election. I think the central point we need is to make sure that we don't have a nation of retired renters where young Australians don't aspire to own their own home, and even worse than that, they head towards retirement not owning their own home, become retired renters, and renting in retirement is the biggest leading indicator of poverty in retirement. The Labor Party wants people in poverty in retirement.

Peter Stefanovic: When is your super policy going to be announced?

Tim Wilson: At the appropriate time after we've gone through our processes and we get everybody together. But we're the party of free debate…

Peter Stefanovic: After the migration one?

Tim Wilson: We'll structure that out in the appropriate time in the appropriate way to make sure we get the best outcome for the Australian people. That's our focus.

Peter Stefanovic: I mean, Jonno Duniam reckons the migration plan will be before Parliament next seat, so it'll be before that or after that?

Tim Wilson: It will be a released at the appropriate time to win the next election and get rid of this rotten Labor government.

Peter Stefanovic: On the subject of winning the next election, Barnaby Joyce is getting in with senior members of the Coalition to make a deal with the Coalition to try and guarantee supply. Are you aware of these talks, and are they serious?

Tim Wilson: I think they're a figment of Barnaby's imagination. This is a man who has previously gone to his electorate and said that he's going to be a Nationals MP throughout the life of this term. He broke that promise to his electorate. He said he'd support his leader. He broke that promise. He said he'd support his party. He broke that promise. I understand Barnaby has regrets about jumping over to a new political party where he doesn't pull the strings and is now just operated by others. I think it's a figment of his imagination.

Peter Stefanovic: A figment of imagination being the talks with key members of the Coalition, or a formal partnership with One Nation?

Tim Wilson: Well, both. The reality…

Peter Stefanovic: So, it didn’t happen, the talks haven't happened? He says they have.

Tim Wilson: Well, Barnaby had one story in his interview. He had a different story by the end of the interview. He can't name the people who are involved. I know that Angus Taylor and Matt Canavan have confirmed that that's not the case. So, I think it's a figment of his imagination. I get that he's got regrets about joining One Nation. I do understand that. After betraying his community, his party, and his leader, I understand that..

Peter Stefanovic: Does he, though? One Nation is ahead of you in the polls.

Tim Wilson: Well, I think he does. If he really believed that he'd run for a lower house seat because he thinks that's the pathway forward, the reality is I think he regrets it. I understand and respect that, but the truth is this is a figment of his imagination.

Peter Stefanovic: Barnaby Joyce is coming up in a moment, so I'll be asking him about that. But I mean, the interesting line was, or the set of words, that you would have to give them confidence, the assumption being that One Nation would win more seats than you. Is that how it's going to shake down?

Tim Wilson: Well, this is the problem of the arrogance of pre-judging the Australian people. Barnaby Joyce went to last election, said to his community, I'm going to be a National Party MP. He broke that promise. He broke the promises to his leader. He broke the promises to his party. I understand he regrets the decision he's making, and now he's full of his own self-confidence, but I can assure you the one thing I'm focused on is making sure we have a Liberal-led majority government at the next election.

Peter Stefanovic: Well, Simon Kennedy says he's open to working with anybody if it means getting Labor out of power. So, is that a no for you, doing some kind of deal with One Nation, whether it's a soft arrangement or something harder?

Tim Wilson: There's only one thing I'm working towards, and having a majority Liberal-led government, of course, in Coalition with the National Party, because I want to make sure that we have strong, stable government that defines the future of this country, that grows the economic pie, and makes sure that Australians are better off, not drowning under Jim Chalmers' active inflation agenda.

Peter Stefanovic: Just one more before we go on that point, because I had the Treasurer on the program yesterday. When the United States last week rose rates for the first time in three years, signalling another one is coming because of the war and because of the AI boom, does that give the Treasurer cover for what appears to be a locked-in rate rise next week, the fourth of the year?

Tim Wilson: The Treasurer is always looking for excuses. What he can't hide from is the Reserve Bank continues to call out that government spending is part of the problem. The Treasurer cannot hide the fact there have been three interest rate rises before the United States did so recently. The problem is it's the Treasurer who keeps stoking inflation. He'll deflect, he'll find any excuse under the sun. It'll be Iran, it'll be the president of the United States' problem, it'll be somebody else's responsibility. I'm quite sure at some point it will be my fault. Let's be real. The Treasurer has lost control of the economy. The only thing he's focused on is stoking inflation because it gives him more tax revenue.

Peter Stefanovic: That's the Shadow Treasurer, Tim Wilson. Appreciate it as always, Tim. Thank you.

Tim Wilson: Thank you.

[ENDS]