THE HON TANYA PLIBERSEK MP
MINISTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES
E&OE TRANSCRIPT
TV INTERVIEW
SUNRISE
MONDAY, 11 AUGUST 2025
Topics: Road User Charges; Property Reserve Prices.
NATALIE BARR: Electric vehicle drivers could soon be hit with a road user charge, with the Treasurer working on tax reform plans that secure long term road funding and boost productivity. High level talks between transport and public service leaders are starting today to discuss a road user charge policy, with Jim Chalmers previously flagging in June that he was working on it with the states and the territories. For their take, let's bring in Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek and Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce. Good morning to you, Tanya. Should EV drivers be ready for some kind of road user charge?
TANYA PLIBERSEK, MINISTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES: Well, this is a discussion that the states and territories have been leading for some time. It's no secret that as the number of petrol vehicles and diesel vehicles goes down, the take from fuel excise decreases. That means less money for building and maintaining roads. So, the states and territories have been looking at this for some time. I'm sure the Treasurer will be very interested in the discussion today, but the Prime Minister has made very clear that our tax priorities are delivering on the tax cut for every Australian that we've promised and making sure that multinational companies pay their fair share. So, that's our focus.
BARR: Exactly. Look, the Prime Minister, as you say, has said no new taxes. It could be called a fee, could be called a charge, could be called a levy. Do you think there's a chance that, you know, the free ride is over? If you've got an EV, you should be paying your share, Tanya.
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: Look, I don't think anything's happening tomorrow, but I do think it's sensible to look long term, for the states and territories to look long term at what they do to make sure that there's enough money to build the roads that people want to drive on and to make sure they're maintained as well. After all this rain we've had, people would have noticed that there's a lot of potholes around. It's an expensive thing to build and maintain the road network we've got. We've got to make sure we've sustainable ways of paying for that.
BARR: Barnaby. It feels like the door could be open and it feels like she's putting it on the states. What did you feel from that answer?
BARNABY JOYCE: I definitely got that. I got a sense that there's a lot of EVs in Tanya's electorate. So, she doesn't want to jump right in there because got to be a bit careful about that. But, we out here are overwhelmingly combustion engines because as you can see, it's different terrain and we feel that we're paying the excise that other people in the inner city are getting away with. And the other thing you'll pick up from that is a bit of a difference between the Prime Minister and the Treasurer. Remember she said, Tanya said, look, we're going to the, we're only going to bring in the taxes that the Prime Minister talked about before the election. Fine. But that's not what the Treasurer is doing. He's doing something else. And there's a bit of a conflict going on there. But you know, there's two bulls in the paddock on that one.
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: You know, Nat. The difference here is between us because we support tax cuts for every single Australian and Barnaby who voted against them and argued against them.
JOYCE: When Tanya does that it’s because I’ve got under her skin.
BARR: That’s not a tax cut. It’s an increase on EV drivers though. Is it Tanya? Call it what you will, but if EV drivers have to pay more, that's an increase, isn't it?
JOYCE: Yep. Absolutely.
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: And nothing's happening tomorrow. This is a sensible conversation to look at long-term.
BARR: Next week then?
JOYCE: Not what Jim's saying.
BARR. So, you reckon Jim wants it and Albo doesn't?
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: You're all getting very excited about one conversation, very excited about one conversation.
BARR: But should they? Is Barnaby right?
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: And Barnaby, I noticed there's a lot of electric utes around these days.
JOYCE: Well, yeah, not out here there isn't. I can show you, not out here.
BARR: You're right.
JOYCE: Haven't seen one.
BARR: You're right. They're roaring up the charts, these vehicles. Should they? The question is, should they pay their share?
JOYCE: Yeah, they definitely should. 100 per cent yes.
BARR: Barnaby says yes. Tanya, what did you say on that one? I forgot. Should they pay their share?
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: I think it's a very sensible discussion for the states and territories to be having at the moment. But it's a long-term discussion. Nothing's changing tomorrow.
BARR: Okay. Right, we'll move on to something else. Our real estate industry is under the spotlight this morning with agents in hot water for repeatedly under-quoting on their listings. So, in a bid to improve transparency, there's now a push for agents to reveal the reserve prices on properties before they go to auction. Tanya, underquoting is a huge problem. It's costing buyers thousands, hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. Should agents be forced to reveal the reserve price?
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: Well, I think it's a very sensible proposal. Like it's so hard, particularly when you're a first home buyer, you've saved up every penny. You see a property that you like the look of, you're being told on all the advertising that it's going to go for a certain amount of money. You turn up to the auction, you hit that amount and they say no, it's passed in, you know, it's not on the market. I think that's incredibly disappointing and unfair, especially for first home buyers. But again, that is something that the states and territories would have to regulate. What we're doing for first home buyers is 100,000 homes just for first home buyers, 5 per cent deposits, shared equity. We're making it easier to get into a home of your own in all sorts of ways. So, we'll continue to do that at the federal level, and we need, you know, we need to see wherever we can, states and territories also stepping up to help, particularly those first home buyers into the market.
BARR: Barnaby, would you like this to happen for the reserve price to be revealed? Because people spend often hundreds, or a thousand dollars or so, on the pest and building inspection. They go to the bank, they hire a lawyer, they do all that and then, you know, it could be after the first or second bid they've, you know, they're out of the auction.
JOYCE: I think it's a fair bit of merit what Tanya just said then. I think that people should have a- they should be at least given an indicative range. So, otherwise I don't really tell exactly the reserve, but an indicative rate so that you're not wasting your time turning up.
BARR: Yeah.
JOYCE: And then you've got to- the problem is for the housing stock in the middle of Sydney, you're just not going to get, for first time owners capacity, for them to buy and you're going to have to look at regional areas and that's why you have to look at regional cities such as Tamworth and regional towns where you actually, a first home buyer can get in. But you've got to make sure you've got the infrastructure there, your dams, you know, some public transport, the schools so that they want to move there. And it is happening. You look at Tamworth, when I was a kid, 22 and a half thousand people. Today, over 70,000. And so, people are pouring in from Sydney and we've got to realise they're doing that because they can actually afford a home there.
BARR: Yeah. If you have just bought a house or you've been trying to buy a house, you're in the market. Tell us whether that would have been helpful if you could have had at least an idea what the reserve is. Because sometimes its set so high you were never in the race and the agent, the agent didn't give you any kind of indication. I think lots of people have been there. Would that be helpful? If you're an agent – you can talk too, yes Barnaby.
JOYCE: Yes, my first house was in Wares Creek. Cost me 67 and a half thousand dollars. And when I sold it, I think I got 69, so.
BARR: And what guess was the reserve at, 70?
JOYCE: Well, it was a pretty – let's say that at 31 Gordon Street it wasn't the middle of Bellevue Hill.
BARR: Yes, exactly. The stamp duty wouldn't get you anywhere near that now. Thank you very much to both of you. We'll see you next week.
ENDS
