Interview with Tom Connell - Sky News Afternoon Agenda

TOM CONNELL, HOST: Well, Labor has backed down today on plans to increase taxes on super accounts of more than $3 million. Major changes being made, joining now the Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister, Patrick Gorman, thank you for your time today. So, the reason given today was 'stakeholder feedback.' There was a lot of stakeholder feedback as soon as this was announced. Labor still took it to an election unchanged. What's actually changed since the election?
 

PATRICK GORMAN, ASSISTANT MINISTER TO THE PRIME MINISTER: Well, Tom, as you have just said, we did receive a range of feedback, and we, as I was talking to you just last week, we have had analysis of that feedback, and what we have also found is a better way forward, and that is exactly what the Treasurer said at his press conference this morning. Something that can enable those who agreed that there should be some reforms to the superannuation tax concessions, those who agreed can now support this legislation. Some do not want to see any changes at all. I will leave them to one side. But for those who agree that we needed to have some more carefully targeted superannuation concessions, these changes - where we will tax realised gains within large superannuation balances over $3 million. 

This is a good way forward, and it is also a good way forward for people on low incomes. For low income superannuation tax offset changes, we will see workers in Australia who benefit from that policy and the expansion we have announced today, some $15,000 better off in their superannuation account at retirement. That is a good thing. So I think this is a really good, balanced package. The Treasurer has been really open about the consultation, and we have got an outcome, and I hope that we can get it through the Parliament next year.

CONNELL: Okay, but the stakeholder feedback came straight away. Did it just take Labor a couple of years to figure out an alternative?

GORMAN: Well, there has been a range of stakeholder feedback, Tom, I don't think you can say that it only came in the days or weeks after the legislation was introduced -

CONNELL: Was it Paul Keating wading in, did that really put the frighteners up you?

GORMAN: This is not about being frightened. This is about doing what is right for the Australian people, making sure that we have sustainable superannuation tax concessions that are carefully targeted, where we can support those on low incomes - which is a significant amount of what the Treasurer announced today. Some 750,000 women will benefit across Australia from the changes that the Treasurer announced today. And then, when it comes to these very high balances of above $3 million, better targeting the tax concessions that exist within those balances. And lining them up with the transfer balance cap, which is the other piece that we got a range of different pieces of feedback on, we have gone through as a methodical government. We have gone through the normal process of preparing for the Mid Year Fiscal and Economic Outlook that is coming later this year, and we have announced the change.

CONNELL: Okay. Here's another policy you announced. It's not getting passed, changes to FOI laws. Will you listen to stakeholder feedback on this and make changes?

GORMAN: Well, I hope that those who are engaging in the discussion about Freedom of Information laws will also acknowledge some of the serious problems that we have when it comes to our current Freedom of Information regime. I don't think there are any Australians running around defending the fact that you can have anonymous Freedom of Information requests lobbed in. I have seen a couple of those. I find it really concerning that no one knows who is on the other end of those requests, where in the world they are, what country -

CONNELL: What's an example of one that you saw that concerned you?

GORMAN: I will not go into the specific details, but I remember the first time that I found out it was possible for people to put in an anonymous Freedom of Information request, and I thought that was ridiculous. I agree that we should fix that, and that is part of the package that is in front of the parliament. Similarly, I have got responsibilities for the public service. I believe that the public service is there to support the Australian people delivering the policies that the parliament enacts. Now, when you have got a million hours, a million hours of public service time being used to process FOI requests, that time could be spent doing other things. It could be spent getting faster parenting payments out the door, faster pension approvals, faster Medicare -

CONNELL: But there is no change in the bill to make that process easier. It's just, 'let's have fewer requests.' Why not work on making the process easier, more automated, whatever it might be, rather than greatly restricting who can file them?

GORMAN: A range of those things have already happened, Tom. A range of those things have already happened. You know, we deal with legislation as it is in the most efficient way possible, but there are some inefficiencies in the current FOI Act. I want to see that fixed. The Attorney-General wants to see that fixed. And that is because we know that these laws are wasting public resources. I cannot defend that. You might be comfortable defending it, but I am not going to.

CONNELL: Well, just hoping that FOI is still something achievable. We're not even getting to the redactment. Some of the ones that come back have been frankly embarrassing, I'd say, that's something I wouldn't be defending. But anyway, only so much time we can spend on that. Let me ask you about immigration. Big talking point around the nation, the WA premier wading in. It's an interesting one on housing, because we need the skills to get in, but we want to have a programme - we don't have, you know, so many people into the country at one time, we can't afford, or it's impossible to build enough houses. Where do you sit on this? Is this something Labor keeps an eye on in terms of immigration levels, and you'd be ready to act to have a tighter programme, if you like?

GORMAN: Of course. I mean, if you look at some of the work that Minister Tony Burke and his team have done, we have seen some 40 per cent reduction in the permanent migration numbers. We have seen now, that number of 185,000 a year. That is the appropriate setting. That is what the advice we have got is. That is sort of where it lands in the national interest. And we will get feedback from premiers and business interests and all the rest. We have always got to make a decision in the public interest about what is going to benefit the Australian nation. 

That is how we come to our decisions about migration. And when it comes to making sure we have the skills that we need to build the homes that Australians rightly want and deserve, step one of our plan is, of course, our free tape initiatives that make sure that we have every opportunity for Australians to get those good, paying, quality, secure jobs. Working, whether it be as a sparky, a plumber, or working in construction, so that we can have that workforce here at home. And then the second piece is we have, since 2019, increased skilled migration to the construction sector so we can have the critical infrastructure and housing that Australia needs.

CONNELL: Just briefly, all eyes on Israel, immense relief, I suppose - we hope - in the next coming hours for those families of hostages?

GORMAN: Yeah, I understand that people around the world are watching with cautious hope that we will see those hostages return to their families after more than two years of horrific treatment. I hope that the peace deal that President Trump has led does start to see those early outcomes, but I also recognise that there are families in Israel who today would know that their loved ones who were taken as hostages will never come home. And so it is a day where there are lots of emotions, but I do hope that the reports we are hearing that release is imminent comes to be in the hours ahead.

CONNELL: Yeah, there's 20 believed to be alive, but more bodies being returned as well. Patrick Gorman, as ever, thank you. 

GORMAN: Thank you.