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March 27, 2025
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PETER STEFANOVIC: Joining us is the Shadow Home Affairs Minister James Paterson. Good to see you, James. So, just confirming this fuel excise will be halved?
JAMES PATERSON: That's right, we will halve fuel excise. It'll be the first item of business for the government on the first day that the Parliament sits after the election if we're successful, and it will mean for a family with one car who fills up once a week about $14 relief every single week or about $700 over a year. For a two-car family, that could be $28 a week or up to $1,500 per year. It's real relief right away, not fake relief in 15 months' time with 70 cents a day tax cuts.
STEFANOVIC: So just on that point that Mark Butler just mentioned there, yours is temporary relief as opposed to a permanent change that Labor is promising. Angus Taylor just referred to this, but just elaborate on Taylor's point. You believe that the economic conditions will be better after 12 months?
PATERSON: Well, we plan to get inflation under control. Apparently, the government doesn't. But we believe that we can get inflation back under control by going back to basics with proper economic management and with prudent budget management. And we will get inflation down so that costs and prices stop rising. And that's why this is temporary targeted relief. But relief which will start straight away. We're not going to wait 15 months because Australians need it now. They're struggling right now. And if you're a family living in the suburbs, driving to work, driving the kids to school, running errands, if you've got one car, this is going to be a big difference to you. If you've got two, it's going to be even more significant, far more relief far sooner than what Labor is promising.
STEFANOVIC: The problem is going to be inflation, though, James, economists and one of them just pointed out on this program that yes, it will be a great saving, but it means that that saving goes to discretionary spending, which is inflationary.
PATERSON: Well, I don't agree on a couple of levels, but even if we did accept that, well, then the same would apply to the government's tax cuts as well. But the difference with petrol is that petrol is a key input in the basket of goods for inflation. So if you reduce the price of petrol - and it's the total price of petrol, including tax, which is measured - then that has a deflationary impact on the CPI. But secondly, petrol and diesel are significant business costs. They're inputs into businesses when we're getting food and other products around the country in trucks. And if you reduce the cost of business, you're also having a downward effect on inflation. So, we don't accept that proposition at all. This will make a difference for families, and it will keep a lid on inflation, but we'll have other measures which will also drive down inflation, including cheaper electricity, and Peter Dutton will have more to say about that.
STEFANOVIC: Okay, so I'll get to that in a moment. So Labor's tax cuts, they passed the Senate last night. Will you repeal them? Will the Coalition repeal them?
PATERSON: Look, I'll leave it to our economic spokesmen to make statements about that in due course, but we are offering the Australian people a choice at the next election. If they re-elect Anthony Albanese and the Labor Party for another three years, they can expect fake relief in 15 months' time of 70 cents a day, not when people need it and not in the amount that they need it. Or if they elect Peter Dutton and the Coalition, they'll get real relief straight away. From day one, it'll be our priority to get this fuel excise reduction through that will make a real difference to family budgets from day one.
STEFANOVIC: So will the Coalition be offering any tax cuts? Are you going there?
PATERSON: Pete, you won't be surprised I'm not going to announce that on your program today. We will have more to say about all of our economic policies and our economic plans...
STEFANOVIC: I mean, it would be expensive if you did both, right?
PATERSON: Well, I was just going to say some of that we will outline in Peter's budget reply tonight, and other significant economic policies will be outlined in the weeks ahead. We're not very far away from the Prime Minister pulling the starter's gun here, firing the starter's gun, and we've got a really positive plan to get our country back on track, to get inflation under control, to give people the real relief they need right away, not waiting for 15 months.
STEFANOVIC: Okay, if you don't touch tax cuts, though, does that make Labor the party of lower taxes?
PATERSON: If you stop the average man or woman in the street, no one would tell you that the Labor Party is the party of lower taxes. It is in their DNA to take more of the hard-earned money that you take home, and to keep it for themselves.
STEFANOVIC: By they are by having this policy. They are, aren't they?
PATERSON: Actually, what the evidence shows, Pete, is that tax is up on this government's watch. Australians are paying record levels of tax on this government's watch, income tax is up about 22% prior to this budget. That's a massive increase for Australians. And it's come at a time when their cost of living has been absolutely smashed, when their standard of living has been smashed. They're down by about 8% in living standards on this government's watch. The tax is up, living standards are down, and that is the misery that this government has reaked. And don't expect it to be any different if they're re-elected. God forbid if they are re-elected in a minority hung parliament with the Teals and the Greens. We can't afford three more years of Labor.
STEFANOVIC: Okay, just a final note because we just outlined a segment on tobacco excise and all the problems that have been caused now from successive governments. Would the Coalition freeze or drop the tobacco excises to help out the tobacco war, or would it leave it like Jim Chalmers said yesterday, that he is going to?
PATERSON: That's not part of our plan, Pete, but I am very concerned about how out of control this has got on this government's watch. We've had almost 200 tobacco stores firebombed in my home state of Victoria alone. There's a full-blown war with organised crime and outlaw motorcycle gangs for control of this illegal tobacco trade. It's smashed government revenue, and it is fuelling organised crime in our suburbs and our communities. And it's because this government has had no plan to deal with it. We promised some time ago a $250 million strike force led by the Australian Federal Police in partnership with Australian Border Force and other key law enforcement and intelligence agencies at the Commonwealth level to crack down on this insidious trade because it's not good for Australians.
STEFANOVIC: Alright, James, appreciate it. Thank you. I know you had to go, but thanks for your time.
ENDS