E&OE TRANSCRIPT
TELEVISION INTERVIEW
SKY NEWS
THURSDAY, 30 APRIL 2026
Topics: Antisemitism Royal Commission Interim Report; NDIS; May Budget
LAURA JAYES: Joining me now is Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek. Tanya, thanks so much for your time. Good timing.
MINISTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES, TANYA PLIBERSEK: Good morning.
JAYES: We just saw that interim report handed to the Governor-General. We don't know what's in it yet. You won't know what's in it either. But how important is it for the government to respond and act on whatever is in this interim report?
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: Well, of course it's absolutely critical, Laura. It's only a few months since this most shocking event took place in Bondi. Australians are still grieving the event and still searching for answers. I know Virginia Bell will have done a very thorough job. And, of course, the contribution that Dennis Richardson made in the early days of the report as well, would be absolutely vital to understanding how this happened and how we can make sure that nothing like this ever happens again.
JAYES: Dennis Richardson, of course, is no longer contributing to this Royal Commission. He has, in recent days also questioned whether there should have been more focus, well, essentially, whether they're intelligence failures, there should have been more focus on Naveed Akram and his accomplice. Is that a fair conversation? We need to have more than a conversation. Can it be done in public, or does this need to be done somewhat behind closed doors as well? Should we expect that?
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: Well, I think the Royal Commission, particularly this interim report, has a lot of contributions from Dennis Richardson and it is, of course, appropriate to ask all of these questions about what led up to the attack. What could we have changed to avoid this horrific incident? It will be a conversation in the Australian public, no doubt, and people will see the interim report later today. They'll have the opportunity to read it for themselves, they'll have the opportunity to comment. And, of course, in coming months, Virginia Bell will continue her Royal Commission, present the government with a final report, and that will be an opportunity for us really to examine all of these issues. Of course, it's important to ask every question because we never want to see anything like this happen in Australia again.
JAYES: Okay, if we could switch now and talk about the budget for just a moment. Of course, the NDIS announcement is quite major and it does show that this was an important reform in and of itself, in the NDIS itself, because that social licence, it was getting frayed. Some of these changes will be painful for many in the community. But do you think this is the right way to go? Can that 2% growth really be achieved?
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: Well, no government program can keep growing at 22%, which is what we inherited. And it is important, I think, Laura, to be very clear about the biggest worry we have is people who have been attracted to making money from the NDIS, who are behaving completely unethically and preventing people with disability in Australia from getting what they are actually requiring and entitled to under the NDIS. What we inherited was a program that had largely paper based systems that had an incredible lack of transparency about where the money was ending up, where most providers, the majority of providers weren't registered. That cannot stand. I mean, if we ran Medicare that way or the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, of course you would have, you know, massive blowouts in those schemes as well. But they are mature schemes. We are moving the National Disability Insurance Scheme to maturity by requiring more accountability, more transparency, more integrity from providers, making sure that people with disability in Australia who fought so hard for this scheme get the care and the support they need.
JAYES: There's been a lot of column inches dedicated to whether this is the right way to go. I think it's very brave, I think it's very thought through. We can go back through history, recent history, and say, well, the previous government tried to do these things and Labor blocked them. But what do you-
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: I mean, not really, though, Laura. I mean, we do more checks in a day than the previous government used to do in a year. Like there just, there was a lack of interest and a lack of, I think, intelligence brought to the way the scheme was being administered under the previous government. And Mark Butler and Jenny McAllister have been really thorough in making sure that the scheme provides support for people with major disabilities, that they will continue to get the support they need, but that the shonks and the shysters who have been attracted to, you know, try and make a quick buck out of people with disability, actually have a stop put to their business model.
JAYES: Yeah, I expect that that industry, as you describe it, will be shut down. People will lose jobs. And I think providers, the shonky providers, well, those businesses would close. That should be the effect of it. I just wanted to ask you about the budget more broadly. You remember you probably have a bit of PTSD from the 2019 election when Bill Shorten tried to look and-
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: More than you know.
JAYES: Yeah, when Bill Shorten tried to look at negative gearing. It seems that Jim Chalmers is looking to go even further this time around. Why is now the right time?
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: Yeah, well, I'm not going to engage in speculation about what will be in the budget. It's less than two weeks away and I'll let the Treasurer make any announcements that he wants to make on budget night. But I say a couple of things about both tax reform and housing. You can tell what our priorities are with tax reform. We've already delivered one tax cut. We've got another one this year, another one next year for working people. We took those top end tax cuts and spread them out throughout the Australian taxpaying community to make sure that people on low and middle incomes got a better deal. We've got a $1,000 instant write off coming up. We are focused on making our tax system fairer. And when it comes to housing, which is of course a huge intergenerational equity issue, we've helped more than 300,000 people into a home of their own with our 5% deposit scheme. We are 100% focused on building. Obviously what's happening in the Strait of Hormuz is an impact on our construction industry like it is across the economy. It makes the job tougher, but we're focused on building houses and getting people into those homes so that they can experience the same economic security that their parents and grandparents have in Australia.
JAYES: Do you think Labor could absorb the political backlash that would come with only putting, allowing negative gearing on a new home, not grandfathering, but giving a grace period on existing?
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: Look, I'm not going to speculate about the particular policies, but I'll tell you, I talk to people my age and older all the time who are worried about their kids and grandkids ever being able to afford a home of their own. It is frequently raised with me when I'm doing street stalls out and about in the electorate, it is commonly raised with me. So, I think a system that builds more homes, that helps more young Australians into a home of their own, that helps with housing affordability and that means rental and homes to buy. Those policies really do resonate with, you know, people who already own their own home. I've got three kids, I want them to be able to afford a home of their own one day too.
JAYES: Yeah, I see you're in Perth, so thanks so much for getting up extra early for us today. The PM was in Perth yesterday as well. He's asked about a gas tax as well. I'm not sure he was asked about the GST carve up, but they are two big issues in WA. What do you say to them?
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: Well, I think the Western Australian government have been very clear with us about their expectations around the GST and the Prime Minister was clear about that and has historically been clear about that. And yesterday was very clear about the gas tax, not to expect a 25% tax on exports as some people have been advocating. He said that to the gas industry yesterday. So, I think that's pretty clear.
JAYES: Tanya Plibersek, thanks so much for your time. Appreciate it.
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: Thanks Laura.
ENDS
