Wednesday, 1 July 2026

 

Transcript- Interview on Sky News, First Edition

 

Topics: house prices, polling, inflation, Tax Back Guarantee, Liberal Party

 

E&OE……………………..

 

Peter Stefanovic: You’re with First Edition on this Wednesday morning, folks. Well, the value of your home is falling, with new data out this morning showing price falls across our major centres. Joining us live out of Canberra is the Shadow Treasurer, Tim Wilson. Tim, it's good to have you with us this morning. So, it's there in black and white today. What do you put it down to?

Tim Wilson: Well, Jim Chalmers has crashed the confidence of the Australian economy since his federal budget now nearly two months ago. What's happened is a crisis of confidence in the Australian economy. We've had record small business insolvencies, record low small business confidence, record low consumer confidence. So, what a shock we've got record low investor confidence as well to back in and see the future of the Australian economy. And despite all the claims that it's about young people getting into housing, I'm told that banks are saying there's not a lot of debt being issued to young people trying to buy a home.

Peter Stefanovic: Right. As Cotality though points out today, just in reflection to those house prices that are dropping, it says that there was moderation before the budget. So, is it a combination of things? Yes, partly the budget, but also an increase of three interest rates and global instability? So, part of it out of the government's control.

Tim Wilson: Well, the inflation problem is a problem that's within the government's control. The Reserve Bank Governor has correctly identified that Australia's inflation problem started before the Iran crisis. So, yes, I'll accept that inflation that the government has actively been stoking is part of the problem as well. But this is part of the problem. The job of the government is to give Australians confidence and hope for the future so that they back themselves, invest, build wealth, and go on to build a better nation. Instead, we have a government that's trying to eat into the savings of the middle class, destroying the Australian dream, and trying to crash the Australian economy. I mean, it's just disgraceful.

Peter Stefanovic: Do you think this is a temporary blip, though, when it comes to house prices, and things will eventually recover as more certainty emerges?

Tim Wilson: Well, the government is, according to its own budget documents, building 35,000 fewer homes while they're overshooting their migration target. So eventually there'll be a recovery, I'm not arguing that, because if they keep bringing more people in than housing stock we can build, you will eventually see more demand than there is supply, which there already basically is. The question is really, are we having a confident Australia? Is the government speaking to Australians' hope and aspiration that if they work hard, hard work will pay off, that Australians will feel in control of their lives, and that they feel a basic sense of respect, and we've got none of that from this government.

Peter Stefanovic: According to our latest Sky News Pulse this morning, I'm talking about a price drop here, this is what most voters appear to want. Again, this is according to our survey, that prices need to come down in the interests of affordability. So is this correction or drop, or whatever you want to call it, actually necessary?

Tim Wilson: Well, markets decide based on what people want to buy things for, not based on public opinion. Public opinion does have an influence on things like confidence. All Australians want young Australians to have a chance to be able to get into their first home, to be able to get their foot on the property ladder, and to be able to secure something for themselves and for their families. So there's a balancing act here.

Peter Stefanovic: Okay, but do the changes allow that to happen then?

Tim Wilson: Well, in one sense, we've got a significant problem with the housing market right now, where we know that prices have exponentially grown. Nobody's sort of arguing against that. The question is, is it sustainable? Wages are going backwards while we've got house prices, until recently, going forwards, then it moderated a little bit, but wages are still going backwards. That's not going to put us in a position where young Australians are in a better position to buy their first home. We need young Australians to have hope and ambition for the future, and the government's only solution to that is new taxes.

Peter Stefanovic: Okay, well speaking of going backwards, it's your vote according to polls, and our one again today, it mirrors numbers that were seen in Newspoll and RedBridge this week. So, it is part of a common trend that people just aren't buying what you're selling. Yeah, here's part of it here. So, it's a steep drop on your part for your party's part. So, are you on the wrong side of this and other policies as well?

Tim Wilson: There's absolutely policies we need to get right, articulate, and to articulate to the Australian people. We've put out a series of policies already around the tax-back guarantee to actually protect Australians against Jim Chalmers' active inflation agenda. And we of course are going on and continue to sell that. And every time we talk to people about it, they see the benefit and the advantage of it. But this is going to take time, no one's pretending otherwise. The key thing we've got to do is solidify trust, because we're up against a government that is just so calm, just so relaxed, just so comfortable lying to the Australian people, and part of our challenge is we've got to be a sustainable alternative that clearly articulates a vision for the country that builds trust after the current government has shat on the trust of the Australian community, and to give Australians hope.

Peter Stefanovic: Well, we'll have to close on this, but the fact is that One Nation is eating your votes, so do you need to just accept that, come together with them in time for the next election, whether it be preferences or not, despite the concerns of your colleague Andrew Hastie?

Tim Wilson: Well, I've raised my own concerns about these things before, but what we need to do in the lead-up to the next election and at the next election is we need to end Labor's corruption, we need to stop Labor's inflation, we need to cut Labor's tax, and we need to back small business because that's the only sustainable way to build out a future for the Australian economy where young Australians, older Australians, doesn't matter who you are, look to the horizon with hope and believe in a better Liberal future.

Peter Stefanovic: Okay, Tim Wilson, we'll leave it there. Appreciate it though.