Tuesday, 9 June 2026

Transcript: Interview on Sky News, Paul Murray Live

Topics: Federal Budget, Coalition, One Nation

E&OE...

Caleb Bond: Well, to discuss plenty of that, joining me now, Federal Shadow Treasurer Tim Wilson. Mr. Wilson, good to see you. I think we could fairly say that the federal government has had a stinker on this budget. As I say, it's still front-page news every day. There's more and more coming out about it and reaction to it. Why is it then that that has not translated into support for you and your party given, in the latest Newspoll on the weekend, you've actually gone backwards?

Tim Wilson: Well, what's clear is that Labor's budget is a stinker, and people are jumping off the Labor Party. What we need to be very clear with the Australian people is, not just what we're for, but who we're for and fighting for the future of the country. We don't have time to waste, and we need to be very clear about outlining our policy program with an animating vision that excites Australians about a better future, and one that's built on hope.

Caleb Bond: But are you worried that that message is not cutting through, or that it's not there enough yet? I mean, clearly, there is a movement, but it all seems to be going towards One Nation, not to the Coalition, when, you know, really, you've been handed a free kick.

Tim Wilson: We've been handed a free kick, in one sense, by the Labor Party, but that's because they betrayed the Australian community. And we need to be the agents of trust and hope for the future of Australia. And until we are out there prosecuting that consistently, day by day, and it will take time, to rebuild a sense of trust about who we are and what who we're fighting for, then I can see a pathway. I can see a pathway to us forming government after the next election, but it's going to take time. Nothing is going to happen overnight.

Caleb Bond: But are you do you think you're adequately prosecuting that message at the moment? I mean, if you if you can see the pathway, are you on it yet?

Tim Wilson: Well, we're on the pathway, but I think there's a long way to go. And I think that we need to both release more policies, it needs to be part of a very clear, consistent, animating vision of where we want to take the country. People need to hear that, and we need to build out not just the content or the message, but also the channels to get there. And none of that is going to be a task that's done overnight.

Caleb Bond: I take that point, but I suppose it's one thing to get them to understand what you're saying, but how do you then get them to say, "Well, I'd rather vote for you over One Nation"? Because, at the moment, that seems very much to be where people are parking that vote if they are either not happy with the government, or they're not happy with you.

Tim Wilson: Well, and I think that's why it's so important to be focused on a more hopeful future. A future where Australians feel like hard work pays off, where they're in control of their own lives, and they feel a basic sense of respect. Australians are in despair right now under the Albanese government. They're despairing at the state of the country, and the fact that, frankly, we lost the last election. People are still despairing of that because they don't want to see that repeated. They need confidence, trust, and hope for a better future through a liberal vision built on a blue liberal horizon of hope.

Caleb Bond: Of course, we talk about how you get there. One of the things that's been discussed today is the possibility of a preference deal between the Coalition and One Nation. Your leader, Angus Taylor, addressed this question earlier. Take a look:

Journalist: …the Coalition swapping preferences with One Nation, is this something that you back as well?
Angus Taylor: Well, we'll work with others to get rid of a rotten Labor government. I mean, people are angry.

Caleb Bond: Which I think is a fair point. And, of course, your federal president today, Tony Abbott, said, as a general rule, it makes sense for parties of the right to preference each other, just as parties of the left have always done. Would you support an official preference deal between the Liberal Party or the Coalition and One Nation?

Tim Wilson: We'll make decisions about that at the appropriate time once we know who the candidates are. I saw last week that Pauline Hanson was out there talking about extremists infiltrating her party. They're not my words, they're her words. And so, we need to be mindful to make sure that when we're fighting for the future of the country, we're giving people a sense of confidence and hope about what we're going to build, and that we're in a position to win as many votes, primary votes, as possible. But we always need to be mindful which candidates are on the ballot, and whether we ultimately want to preference them. And I'm sure they feel the same way. I mean, according to newspapers, Ms. Hanson's already basically decided she wants me gone. So, she's made a decision she wants Labor and the Teal, probably the Teal in Goldstein. That's her choice. I think that's rather strange because if you're going to have an arrangement, you've got to somehow kind of make sure that Liberals get elected.

Caleb Bond: So, so you would be pushing, presumably, in your electorate not to do a deal with One Nation, but you'd be open to it perhaps other electorates if you thought the candidates were worthy?

Tim Wilson: Well, let's wait and see on all these things. I'm not going to give commitments today about where things are and where things are going to be in two years' time because, as Pauline Hanson herself has said, her party is being infiltrated by extremists, and she's had to expel a number of them. We need to be mindful of that. I'm trusting her words that that is what is happening. And so, we just need to make sure that when it comes to the candidates and the movement, that it doesn't become something that is very distressing for Australians.

Caleb Bond: Just coming back to the economy, we've seen that the NAB today saying that they expect the next move would be a rate decrease, not increase, probably, from the RBA, and Westpac has also put out its consumer index today, which has gone backward significantly. It's one of the lowest results they've had in the 50 years that they've been doing this survey, and particularly, one of the things it's found is that people don't see housing as a safe place to put their money anymore. That has to be a reflection on the federal budget.

Tim Wilson: It's absolutely a reflection on the federal budget. The federal budget is basically trying to crash the Australian economy. This is Jim Chalmers' legacy. He's got an active inflation agenda. He's pouring debt petrol on the inflation fire. So, Australian households are not just losing in real wages, every time they go to the supermarket, they're getting less in their red basket or their trolley. And now, of course, the federal budget is coming along to try to smash up other parts of the economy. Small business has already had record insolvencies. Now they're being actively disincentivised from getting ahead. So, the consumer confidence, small business confidence, is a big net negative for the federal budget.

Caleb Bond: Yeah, indeed. And people feel like things are going to get worse before they get better. As we know, we're in a per capita GDP recession as well, so things aren't looking good.

[ENDS]