E&OE TRANSCRIPT
TELEVISION INTERVIEW
ABC NEWS BREAKFAST
FRIDAY, 22 May 2026

Topics: Foreign fighters’ families; Second Action Plan; Federal Budget.

JAMES GLENDAY: But first, we want to bring in the Social Services Minister, Tanya Plibersek, who joins us live. Minister, welcome back to News Breakfast.

TANYA PLIBERSEK, MINISTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES: Good morning, James.

GLENDAY: Now, you've got an announcement, and I want to come to that in a moment. Do you have anything, though, that you can tell us about this group - or latest group of women that is coming back from Syria?

MINISTER PLIBERSEK: Well, I can tell you that they'll face the same consequences as the first group, which is if there are any crimes that they're accused of, they'll be taken into custody and treated with the full force of the law.

GLENDAY: Just in your portfolio, earlier this week, we saw what appears to be a horrible incident of family violence in Sydney. And too often we see these types of incidents around the country. There's a big spotlight, the media talks about it for a few days, and then it fades away. What's your government doing to try to tackle this scourge?

MINISTER PLIBERSEK: Well, it was a horrific report of a triple murder. And of course, it comes at a time when we've had several such reports that they come together and we feel quite overwhelmed as a society, I think, when we hear such horrible reports. But I suppose today the message is we're opening consultations on the Second Action Plan, on the National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children. And that's really important because we've had some progress in reducing some types of violence, but we see new and emerging forms of violence and new and emerging threats all the time. So, we need to continue to update what we're doing as a Commonwealth government with the states and territories to address this problem.

Since coming to government, we've invested about $4.4 billion in really big new changes like the Leaving Violence Program, which provides up to $5,000 support and safety planning to someone who wants to leave a violent relationship. We're investing about $1.2 billion in crisis and transitional housing. There's some big things happening and we are seeing some really important change because of that. But we need to continue to update what we're doing because we see new threats like tech facilitated abuse, stalking apps and tools on phones, non-consensual sharing of intimate images. There's a whole new frontier of abuse and it's driven a lot by what's happening online. So, we need to evolve what we're doing and that's what the Second Action Plan is all about, to make sure that we're getting it right.

GLENDAY: Just to a different issue that seems to have dominated headlines for the past week and a bit since the budget. You were in a senior leadership position the last time the Labor Party was looking at winding back property tax breaks and things like negative gearing and the capital gains tax. Has the reaction over the past week and a bit surprised you at all?

MINISTER PLIBERSEK: Not really, I think our political opponents will always try and weaponise any positive change we make for the country and frighten people with it. But I think most Australians, when they take a bit of time to have a look at what we're actually doing, will understand that we're doing this for their kids and grandkids. If we want the young people in Australia today to have the same opportunities that their parents and grandparents had, to buy a house and live in it and raise a family, then we need to change what we've been doing in recent years. We have been locking young people out of the housing market. That needs to change.

GLENDAY: One of the lessons that some in your party took from your defeat last time was that if you were going to change particularly these property tax breaks, then you needed to pair it with income tax cuts. That certainly seems to be what the New South Wales Premier, Chris Minns, seemed to be suggesting earlier in the week. Should your party be looking at income tax cuts to soften some of these changes for some people?

MINISTER PLIBERSEK: Well, we're not just looking at them, we're delivering them. In fact, someone on around an average wage will get about a $2,800 tax cut because of the three yearly tax cuts we're making. The $250, the tax offset that we've introduced and up to $1,000 of, the other tax offset of up to $1,000. We're also, you know, looking at how we can take pressure off the cost of living in all sorts of different ways, with cheaper medicines, cheaper childcare, free TAFE. We know that people are struggling at the moment and making sure that those five different tax measures combine to reduce taxes, as well as supporting them through other cost of living measures. That's number one on our agenda.

GLENDAY: With respect, though, this doesn't address that broader issue of bracket creep which has been the thing that is being discussed through the week, including by the New South Wales Premier. Is there more to come? Do you expect that your government will take action on this issue over the next year or two?

MINISTER PLIBERSEK: Well, we always like to reduce the tax burden on people when we can, and that's why we've taken these five individual measures that will leave an average person about $2,800 better off. We do what we can when we can afford it. But I tell you what, young Australians are not coming up to me on the street saying, what are you doing about capital gains tax on testamentary trusts? They're coming up to me on the street and saying, thank you, this gives us the chance of getting a home of our own one day. This, combined with our 5 per cent deposit policy means more young Australians will get the chance to own a home of their own like their parents and grandparents have.

GLENDAY: I'm going to let you go, but before I do, just want to get your reaction to that video we saw of Israel's National Security Minister taunting detained activists. There was a lot of reaction to this yesterday. Is this going to change Australia's relationship with Israel, do you think?

MINISTER PLIBERSEK: Well, it was disgusting. And the Foreign Minister has made her views and the views of Australia very clear about just how disgraceful it was. And, I mean, this is someone that's already been sanctioned by Australia. I think the Foreign Minister has been pretty clear on our attitude.

GLENDAY: Tanya Plibersek, thank you very much for joining our program this morning.

MINISTER PLIBERSEK: Thanks so much, James.

ENDS