E&OE TRANSCRIPT
TV INTERVIEW
CHANNEL SEVEN
MONDAY, 2 NOVEMBER 2026
Topics: GOVERNMENT SPENDING; RENEWABLE ENERGY; HOUSE PRICES; POLLING.
MONIQUE WRIGHT: Let's bring in Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek and One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce. Good morning to you both. Tanya, a lot of economists are saying it, government spending needs to be wound back. The question is, how are you going to do it right? What about tightening up some of the green subsidies? Right now, anyone can access the subsidies for electric cars and also those home batteries, regardless of their income. Could we put in a means test?
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: Well, those subsidies that have helped about half a million Australians get a battery to join the more than 3 million Australians who've got solar panels on the roof really have made a big difference to people's energy bills. Some people are paying nothing now for their electricity, that really helps with cost of living. Of course we will make savings. We've made $180 billion worth of savings already, but we don't want to make savings that hurt people. Right now, we've got billions of dollars of saving tied up in the Senate because we can't get the Greens or One Nation or the Coalition to vote for them. So, if people are really serious about savings, the first thing they could do is vote for the savings that are already there in the Senate right now, billions of dollars worth of savings. And the second thing they need to do is say, if not these savings, well, what are our alternatives?
WRIGHT: Ok, Barnaby, if the government was to introduce then an income means test on some of those green offerings, those green subsidies, would you support it?
BARNABY JOYCE: Well, I'll tell you what I'd certainly support and yes, a green scheme that I'd love to support. Now, remember, listeners, about five weeks ago, Tanya said she'd come back and tell us all about how much the capacity investment schemes were costing. And I said Jim would be furious with her. Well, today is the opportunity. We've had five weeks, Tanya. This is a great, great big saving we can make spending on the capacity investment schemes.
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: I said that I was happy to talk about what the transition to renewable energy cost, Barnaby--
JOYCE: Nah nah.
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: The Clean Energy Finance Corporation that you want to get rid of actually brings in -
JOYCE: The capacity investment schemes--
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: $7 billion a year for taxpayers. No, I said we'd talk about what the transition to clean energy costs.
JOYCE: No, you didn't. You told us how much it was going to cost. You said it was in the budget. You said the cost was in the budget and I should be able to sEE IT and you're going to come back with it. So, what is it, Tanya?
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: I said that all of the costs of the transition to renewable energy are laid out in the budget, Barnaby. And things like the Clean Energy Finance Corporation that helps us transition--
JOYCE: But what is the cost?
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: --actually makes money for taxpayers. Well, Barnaby, you know
JOYCE: This is a non-answer.
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: You know Barnaby.
JOYCE: You're not answering the question, Tanya. I know you're not answering the question
WRIGHT: Barnaby, if you don't listen--. Tanya, if you don't have those figures today, maybe you can get them for us for next week. Let's talk about inflation now.
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: No, they're actually commercial in confidence and Barnaby has said in the Senate in the past that things like the oil subsidy scheme should be commercial in confidence.
JOYCE: Why, why? Why are they commercial in confidence? It's our money.
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: Because Barnaby, when you go into a housing auction--
JOYCE: Why are you subsidising these billionaires, why are you subsidising multi-national companies?
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: The billionaires like Gina Rinehart that bank rolls you.
JOYCE: Why are you looking after them and not looking after us?
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: The billionaire Gina Rinehart that bankrolls you. That is the biggest load of nonsense. You are the person, Barnaby, that votes every time how Gina tells you to vote.
WRIGHT: Let's move on now. Let's move on now because inflation is on every Australian's lips right now. Home values across the country are falling at their fastest rate in 40 years. Now we know this follows both the war in Iran, your changes, Tanya, to negative gearing and capital gains tax. Knowing what you know now, the values being wiped off family homes. Do you still think that this year was the right time to introduce those changes, Tanya?
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: I think it's made housing more affordable for young Australians trying to get into the housing market and I think that's a good thing. People had given up on the dream of home ownership. Most Australians were worried about their kids or their grandkids. If they owned their own home, they'd stop me in the street and say, well what about our kids and grandkids, are they ever going to be able to afford a home of their own? So, housing prices were growing too fast. They were outstripping the growth in wages. We couldn't allow that to continue in the way that it was. People can still negatively gear if they want to. If they're already negatively gearing, that's untouched. If they want to negatively gear now they have to buy a new house, so that's still available to them. But the fact that the growth in house prices has moderated, I think that means that housing will be affordable for my kids and my grandkids one day.
WRIGHT: Ok, I think that's a yes. Barnaby. Families are now paying around $700 extra per month on their mortgage. We're expecting another rate hike, of course tomorrow, Melbourne cup day. Do you think that the RBA is doing the right thing? Causing this pain in the short term in order to control inflation in the long term?
JOYCE: The two issues here, the RBA's monetary policy and it reacts to fiscal policy. Fiscal policies of government spending too much money. That's putting too much money into the economy. They're spending $8.7 billion on a climate change department to change the weather. Now I think we should get our money back because I haven't seen much changes because of Chris Bowen. And if they keep doing this, expanding the public service, dramatic expansion, the public service, money wasted. You've just heard today and they won't tell you about the capacity investment schemes. Must be important to that. You're going to get a rise in interest rates and that's what's happening in the housing market. Nobody wants to catch a falling knife when they see the prices being smashed. They're going to stay out of the market.
WRIGHT: Okay, moving on now because it's Monday, which is poll day, of course. Just want to ask you this before you go. Labor fallen back behind One Nation in the latest Newspoll survey, achieving its equal lowest primary vote since the party came to power in 2022. 27 per cent support. Voters also had their say on some high profile cabinet members where Treasurer Jim Chalmers recorded a negative 16 per cent net approval rating, only behind the Prime Minister. Tanya, voters marking down the Treasurer here. Is his job safe?
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: Do you know what? People say that changes, they want savings, they want the government to do the tough stuff. Well, the Treasurer is at the forefront of that. There's been no reforming Treasurer in Australian history that hasn't copped it when they've made big changes. We all support Jim. We all make decisions together. They are tough decisions. They're exactly the tough decisions that Barnaby and all his friends say the country needs. And yet when the government makes the tough decisions, the Treasurer is the one who has to lose skin on it.
WRIGHT: So, you say the government is supporting Jim, job is safe. Barnaby--
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: 100 per cent.
WRIGHT: OK. Tanya had the second highest approval rating of all cabinet Ministers, just behind Penny Wong. Do you think Prime Minister Plibersek could be on the cards?
JOYCE: I think definitely she could do the job. I think that Tanya's a very capable lady. But unfortunately Tanya is not doing the job and Mr. Albanese has lost confidence with the people. I've just come from a tour of NSW. I'm sorry, Prime Minister, they're over you and if you stay there, it's not going to get better and the budget is a disaster. You've got to have people who've actually run a business come to the fore before they start running the country.
WRIGHT: All right, Barnaby and Tanya, we're out of time now. Good to see you both out in the wild in our beautiful country. Lovely to chat. Thank you.
