THE HON TANYA PLIBERSEK MP
MINISTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
TELEVISION INTERVIEW
SUNRISE
MONDAY, 19 MAY 2025

SUBJECTS: CYBER SECURITY ATTACKS ON MYGOV AND ATO; EU FREE TRADE AGREEMENT; RENEWABLE ENERGY.

NATALIE BARR: Hackers are infiltrating the government’s MyGov website and the Australian Taxation Office’s online portal to file fake tax returns and direct refunds into their own bank accounts. Criminals using identify theft technique are successfully exploiting the website breaking through weaknesses in the ATO’s online security. There is no confirmation as to just how many Aussies are affected and how much money has been paid out from the fraudulent claims. For their takes, let's bring in Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek and Nationals Leader David Littleproud. Good morning to both of you. Tanya, we'll start with you. What work is being done to investigate and stop this from happening?

TANYA PLIBERSEK, MINISTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES: Well, the National Office of Cyber Security, of course, and the Minister, Tony Burke, are right on this. If individuals are affected, they should contact the ATO. It is obviously a very concerning story and we'll be using all of the resources of government to continue to make sure that Australians are safer online. Actually, we are one of the very few countries where cybercrime has actually decreased in recent times. We've made substantial investments in keeping Australians safe, but we know that we need to continue to be vigilant. For their own benefit, Australians when they can, should use features like two factor authentication. They should regularly update passwords, and they can continue to use MyGov. But we'll be right on this because we know we need to keep Australians safe online.

BARR: Yeah, David, this is a bit of a shock. So, individuals and even tax agents are logging on, ready to file the return, and then all the boxes are ticked and something says, it's already filed.

DAVID LITTLEPROUD: Yeah. This is deeply concerning this development and it's something I think we need to make sure we can give confidence to the Australian people. The Government needs to be able to be transparent that they are actually on the job, because if you don't have confidence and faith in the government institutions and the processes that keep our society together, then that erodes trust. And when we've had the Government very strongly and rightfully attack Optus for their data breaches, they've got to be able to live up to that standard. Now, there's always going to be these sort of attacks on us. We have to be vigilant, but we have to give confidence and our institutions need to be protected. And that's where the government needs to be very clear and very open about what they're doing to make sure that they rectify this and give confidence in those institutions and those processes.

BARR: And then, Tanya, do you have to then jump through hoops to prove to the ATO that, you know, you haven't actually got the money, it's gone somewhere else and you really deserve the four grand back?

MINISTER PLIBERSEK: Well, people should contact the ATO directly and resolve any issues like that. I think it's not that complicated to show if the money has gone into the wrong bank account. That'll be very, very, very obvious. But I'm sure that Tony Burke, as the Minister responsible for cyber security, will have more to say about this.

BARR: Okay, great. Well, moving on, the Prime Minister has met with the President of the European Union while in Rome, discussing a free trade agreement and working through some of the demands that both sides have. Tanya, explain to us how pivotal these negotiations are with the EU.

MINISTER PLIBERSEK: Well, it is very important. We've been pursuing a free trade agreement with the European Union for many years now. In fact, before we came to government, this was already being negotiated and there are big benefits. We already have about $156 billion of two-way trade with the European Union, but we'd like to see that increase. That's good for Australia. It's good for the European Union as well. There are a few sticking points, and David would be very well aware of them.

BARR: Yes, prosecco and feta, Tanya.

MINISTER PLIBERSEK: Yes, I mean, there's about 1,000 names that the European Union wants to restrict the use of and they are, parmesan, feta, prosecco, a whole lot of names of food that are related to the place where they come from. But, we would say that the parmesan made in Australia is the world's best and we want to make sure that any free trade agreement with the European Union is a clear advantage for Australia. This is obviously one of the sticking points and we'll continue to work through it.

BARR: Yeah, David, we were built on migrants, weren't we? A lot of these guys came out years ago. They've been making their prosecco and their feta and their parmesan here for years. How do we get over that one?

LITTLEPROUD: Yeah and look, much of which I enjoyed over the weekend. I've got to say that this was a sticking point for us when we were in government, and it's good to see that it's back on the table with the EU. And I think it's back on the table because of President Trump's trade war around the globe. And I think what the world's doing is trading around the United States where they can. So, we should take opportunity. But we've also got to be careful. It's not just about making sure we secure this. What the EU also wants Australian farmers to do is to produce your food and fibre in the same way that they do in Europe. And just understand we're on a different continent with a different climate and different environmental conditions. And so, we'll be looking very closely at what the government can pen with the EU. While those geographical indicators are very encouraging around the use of prosecco and feta, we just need to be very careful about what they try to impose on the other side. To make sure Australian farmers aren't impinged in terms of producing your food and fibre to the environmental standards that we need here in Australia, because we're a different continent. But very encouraging, and I think we should take advantage of this as quickly as we can if we get that opportunity.

BARR: As we take up some of the slack after the US tariffs. Finally, the Nationals and Liberals still holding talks about the future of their Coalition agreement. Of course, one of the biggest sticking points we hear is a commitment to reaching a net zero target by 2050, which is an internationally agreed upon pledge to balance the amount of greenhouse gases released into the air with the amount that are removed. David Littleproud, will net zero make or break the Coalition pact?

LITTLEPROUD: Yeah, well, I think there's a lot of commentary that has been misguided. Net zero, we already have a position on that.

BARR: Oh, you can clear it up.

LITTLEPROUD: Not on television today, but just understanding there's much more discussions that need to happen. And because the fact is that Sussan sadly lost her mother on the weekend, we had discussions on Friday, and I've been respectful of that. So, they've been a little bit more elongated than normal, and I just need to work through that with Sussan. But in respect of net zero, that's a separate discussion that each party room will have at some juncture that they'll take a different process to ours. But our policy has been to support it. There are other issues that we're working through, and I'll do that when it's respectful and rightful time to deal with Sussan and I'm very mindful of that, after having just lost her mother.

BARR: Yeah, look, we do understand that, and our thoughts are with her and her family at this stage, but onto the actual business of net zero and nuclear. Do you still support net zero and are you still pushing for nuclear?

LITTLEPROUD: Oh, well, look, I think you can't get to net zero without nuclear energy. Now, whether it's specifically the policy that we took around government owned or whether it's simply removing the moratorium, I think you have to be pragmatic. You cannot do an all-renewables approach and keep the economy going. And we're starting to feel that. We were promised three years ago, $275 reduction in our energy bills. They’ve gone up over $1,300. Unfortunately, physics and economics are going to catch up with it at some point.

BARR: Do you think the electorate is with you on that, though, after the election? Do you think the electorate is with you on nuclear?

LITTLEPROUD: I think what Anthony Albanese was able to do in a masterful way was to perpetrate a lie around a $600 billion cost. The costings actually were $263 billion cheaper than an all-renewables approach of having a mixed grid, not just renewables, but having renewables and gas in it.

BARR: So, they beat you in the sell?

LITTLEPROUD: Oh, they definitely did. You can't lie from them about that, that's blatant to see. But unfortunately, the lived experience is going to catch up with Australians. The fundamentals haven't changed. You can't run an economy the scale of Australia on all renewables. Just look what's happening in Spain and Portugal at the moment. They're having the lights cut out. We can be pragmatic and we can be sensible. We can have a healthier environment and do the right things if we back ourselves as Australians and use the resources we've got. But an all renewables approach can't do it.

BARR: Okay, look, we thank you very much for your time, David Littleproud this week and thank you, Tanya. We'll see you next week.

ENDS