TANYA PLIBERSEK MP
MINISTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND WATER
E&OE TRANSCRIPT
TELEVISION INTERVIEW
SUNRISE
MONDAY, 31 MARCH 2025
SUBJECTS: Federal Election; Newspoll; Support for small business.
NATALIE BARR, HOST: Thanks Shirvo. The first round of polling in our election campaign has been released this morning, with all signs showing a surge in support for Labor and the Prime Minister. The latest Newspoll now has the Government leading the Coalition in two party preferred terms, 51 to 49. Anthony Albanese has also widened his gap with Peter Dutton for preferred Prime Minister, now leading by 11 points. For their take, let's bring in Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek and Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce, Good morning to both of you. Barnaby, we'll start with you because Peter Dutton's approval rating is now lower than any score Anthony Albanese posted as Opposition Leader. Is this being discussed in the Opposition ranks?
BARNABY JOYCE, MEMBER FOR NEW ENGLAND: Not by me or not by anybody who's talking with me. I think it's really important – I see Peter as a tough leader. I see Peter as a person who, in tough times you're going to need – look he, as you know, he is a person if you relied on Australia to have someone who was firm, who did the right thing, who had a real compass, then Peter's the person I pick. Undoubtedly, some people find that his strength a bit disconcerting, but there's nothing bad about him. You know at times I don't get along with him, at times I do, but I have to say he's a good man and he's a strong man, and he's the right guy to be Prime Minister of Australia.
BARR: Look we know the polls don't always work. We've seen that here and overseas, they can be wrong. But this feels like a trend. They're showing that Labor's been increasing in the last couple of months. So do you think there's something just not translating about Peter Dutton, Barnaby?
JOYCE: Nah I don't. I think – look, I don't doubt the polls, right? The polls would be correct. I've never gone on this show, and said I doubted it. But I do say the campaign's a long time, and people really have a chance to think whether they want Mr Bowen as the, to be running their power bills for any longer. Do they think that, um, do they think Mr Albanese, if issues with China start to ramp up, is the person who's going to have the strength to be able to deal with them? Do they believe that the debt is something that the Labor Party has capacity to control? These are the sort of questions that are running past and the cost of living is the front of everybody's mind. And to be quite frank, you walk down the street, they're just angry with everybody because they can't afford to live.
BARR: You're right. Tanya, we'll go to you. They say a week is a long time in politics, so five weeks is a lifetime, probably two lifetimes. How do you not count your chickens? Because you guys are doing well today.
TANYA PLIBERSEK, MINISTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND WATER: Yeah, well, it's still a long way ‘til the election, as you say, and the results are still very close, so we take nothing for granted. That's why we're going to be super focused on making sure we tell people about all the things we've done to try and make their lives a little bit easier. Lower taxes, higher wages, cheaper childcare, cheaper medicines, more bulk billed GP visits, fee-free TAFE, university debt relief - there's a bunch of things there. Our whole focus has been on making life a little easier for people, and I think now as the election approaches, people are taking a look at Peter Dutton and saying, 'well, you've opposed all this stuff and the cupboard's bare. You've got nothing, nothing of your own to help us'. I think that's really focusing people's minds. But of course, we take nothing for granted. We'll be out there every day making the case to give Labor a second term of government.
BARR: Ok I want to chat about small business now, a body representing more than two and a half million small businesses has launched an advertising campaign blitz to pressure both parties into slashing company taxes. The Council of Small Business Organisations Australia wants the corporate tax rate to be cut from 25 to 20% for firms with annual turnovers of less than $20 million. I was at the Small Business Champion Awards on the weekend, two big nights, each night 1000 people in that room, and I can tell you, they said they're sick of being called the backbone of this country and then elections come around, and neither side does anything for them. Tanya, what would you do?
PLIBERSEK: Well, we've already invested more than $2 billion since coming to government to help small businesses, and that includes, just in the most recent budget, a tax cut for more than a million sole traders. We've invested to help small businesses, for example, defend themselves from cyber attacks, we've helped small businesses buy the things they need, invest in the things they need with the instant asset write off. We know that small business is important to this nation. We're there to help small businesses, and we've seen more than 22,000 small businesses open in Australia every month since we've come to government. And I think that's a really important sign that, yes, it's hard work, but small business owners have hope for the future. They're investing in their own time, their own money in setting up –
BARR: Would you cut the tax rate? Would you consider?
PLIBERSEK: Well, that's certainly not an announcement I would make, that's something for the Treasurer and the Prime Minister to consider. But I'd say we already have cut the tax rate for more than a million sole traders, and that's something that Peter Dutton has opposed.
BARR: Okay, let's go to you Barnaby, because there are 2.6 million Aussie small businesses. We know they are doing it tough. Would you consider cutting their tax rate?
JOYCE: Well, I'll tell you what we'd do make sure that we didn't go to 82% renewables by intermittent power by 2030 because the one of the biggest issues for these businesses is the cost of energy. And on our side, we have, including myself, people who are in small business and the cost of energy is killing them. And once – all the talking points that Tanya gave you then she didn't mention once that they'll revisit the absolute smashing they've been to the energy grid and driving power prices through the roof, which is at the nub of the cost of living crisis that's been experienced by small businesses and experienced by everybody they deal with.
BARR: And when are you going to do your costings Barnaby for your power plan?
JOYCE: They'll close by saying, oh, well, they're more there's some small businesses coming in so this report mustn't be right, they must be doing okay, just to show the complete disconnect the Labor Party has with what is the backbone of the nation, small businesses.
PLIBERSEK: Nat, we've given –
BARR: Sorry, Tanya, just on Barnaby, would you consider cutting the tax, the corporate tax rate for small businesses?
JOYCE: I think that the process of government, and we're not in government, is the Treasurer, the Expenditure Review Committee go through any mechanisms they can that assist. Now, we always have a desire to reduce taxes. We look at the books that have been left to us and work out how we can do that. But that, of course, is no way a promise. The Labor Party left us with over a trillion dollars in debt. The first time ever our nation's been through over a trillion dollars in debt, and we've got to try and work it out how we repay the disaster that they've left us.
BARR: And then we'll get, obviously, we're waiting for your energy plan, the costings and the timings, which I think Mr. Dutton has said we'll get in the coming days. Sorry, Tanya, we've got to go. Time's up.
PLIBERSEK: We've given $800 energy bill relief to small business that Barnaby opposed. Why'd you vote against it Barnaby?
JOYCE: You have us the power debacle Tanya, it's yours.
PLIBERSEK: $800, why Barnaby?
BARR: Okay, I think we've got to go, I've got producers yelling at me guys, sorry see you next week.
ENDS
