Tuesday, 4 November 2025

E&OE

Jaynie Seal:

Let's bring in Shadow Industrial Relations Minister, Tim Wilson. Thank you very for joining us. I just wanted to get your reaction on what's happening there in Sydney. As we just heard our reporter there, Crystal Wu saying that there's multiple people that have been arrested outside the protest, the Weapons Expo in Sydney, we know that people have a right to protest and we have seen quite a lot of peaceful protests, but this one as Crystal mentioned, as we're seeing, it's turned into chaos. What is your reaction to this?

Tim Wilson MP:

Well, based on the limited footage I've seen and what you've reported to me, I mean, the reality is people do have a right to protest, but it's still within the bounds of the law and the law should be enforced. That's standard, doesn't matter what the content, the substance or the issue is. People have a right to peacefully protest because they have to respect the rights and freedoms of others, not just demand that their rights and freedoms are respected. We have a society based on rights and responsibilities, not just on some people's rights.

Jaynie Seal:

Alright, well, turning to one of our other top stories, Opposition Leader Sussan Ley as you know is expected to well potentially abandon net zero targets. That's what's certainly on the front page of most of the papers today. The Nationals certainly made their announcement on the weekend. How do you see this and where's your position?

Tim Wilson MP:

Well I've said consistently that the social license to reduce emissions is contingent on achieving net zero price increases and net zero outages. And if we address that, people will accept a lower emissions profile. But the Liberal Party will develop its own policy. The Liberal Party is not National Party-lite. We will make our own decisions about our own policy and we will stand up for what we believe in for conversations around energy and climate change. And, you know, it's really important, of course you know, Sussan did an excellent job in May of this year when the National Party sought to split off and rather than simply chasing them, she stood her ground because she knows that once she loses moral authority, you can't get it back. You need to stand up as the Leader of the Party for the Liberal Party and for its right to make its own decisions and to stand on its own two feet.

Jaynie Seal:

Well, that's a very good point indeed. And The Nationals are standing up for the regions who have bared the brunt of so many of these projects going into not only their land, they're destroying communities, they're destroying prime agricultural land. So what are your thoughts about potential votes being lost if you do decide to dump net zero for the city voters, for example?

Tim Wilson MP:

I’ve always believed that there is a pathway through this policy issue that can unite the entire country but it requires us to lead on the conversation not simply to be defined by the terms of our opponents. One of the things I said recently when I saw some people from capital city groups coming recently, they said, we've got to stop this city-country divide, and I said I couldn't agree more, but only a few years ago you had all these people in Fitzroy celebrating farmers because they said they blocked or locked the gate on gas companies coming in doing coal seam gas extraction on their farmland. But now they want to pillory them for saying they don't want transmission networks on their land. So I think we need clear-eyed positions. They need to be informed by what we believe in and then we need to articulate and prosecute them, but it's not because one side of the debate wins and the other one loses. It has to be how we're going to build a future of Australia's clean industrial future together.

Jaynie Seal:

Absolutely. And you know a lot of farmers say very open to lowering emissions having wind turbine solar panels and the like on their land, just not on the prime agricultural land. Which will affect every one of us with food security here and of course with our exports which we do export so much, billions of dollars worth overseas. Getting onto the technology and energy and agnostic debate, which a lot of the Coalition believe in nuclear energy, can you tell us a bit about that and what the policy might be from your side?

Tim Wilson MP:

Well we went into the last election saying we'd lift the moratorium and of course the case for building nuclear energy. I have supported nuclear energy my entire adult life. When I was last in Parliament in 2016, I advocated for nuclear energy, in 2019 I advocated nuclear energy and today I'm quite happy to advocate for nuclear energy because what we actually need is mechanisms to get more baseload power into the system. If you actually want electricity prices to go down. Truthfully, it's really got nothing to do with net zero. That's just a MacGuffin. It's a plot device that's used to move the story along, but actually isn't the issue. The real issue is can we get baseload energy into the grid to increase supply to lower prices? And to do that, you need to make sure that there's new supply into the future. That's where nuclear fits in. In the meantime, the Victorian and New South Wales State Governments have net zero targets, and in the meanwhile have secret contracts to underride coal to continue and extend its life. And of course we've seen the Queensland Government who've said they've got a net zero target, but they're going to continue to use coal into the future precisely because they know it's necessary to have the supply so industry grows, and of course that they can help get electricity prices down.

Jaynie Seal:

What about people in in city areas though? What are their thoughts generally on nuclear because a lot of people are still thinking the three eyed fish and the danger that it might cause. Yes the waste we know is a big issue but we also see you know bipartisanship across countries that do use nuclear as an energy source for civilian use. So what are your electorate saying about it?

Tim Wilson MP:

When I've spoken to my electorate about this, firstly they know my view very clearly, and I've expressed it very upfront, and actually people are very proportionate and mindful. I think our big task is to sell a much bigger story about the role of nuclear power and the power we need to fuel this country because nuclear power is not the end, it is the beginning. It's the beginning of creating the jobs and economic opportunity where we attract the investment. That the next generation of Australians will be able to get high paying jobs, to then go on and do things like save, buy their own homes, support their families, and of course go on and retire with security. But to do that you need affordable electricity, you need the jobs, you need the opportunity and we're about that, and it is just one part of the package to deliver it.

Jaynie Seal:

All right, we've got to go. But just very, very quickly on your Facebook page, it's in the news that you're saying that the Prime Minister is forcing Parliament to sit today, defying Melbourne's traditions and way of life. You also said that if you were PM, you wouldn't have a sitting day on Melbourne Cup Day. How serious were you here?

Tim Wilson MP:

Oh, it's definitely very serious that I believe the Prime Minister's a philistine, and when it comes down to it he completely disrespects and punches down on Melbourne. Melbourne Cup Day is not just the race that stops Melbourne, it is the race that stops the nation. And he doesn't care because he's never had much regard for Melbourne.

Jaynie Seal:

All right, Tim Wilson, got to go, but thank you so much.

ENDS