Interview with Karl Stefanovic, The Today Show, Channel Nine

KARL STEFANOVIC, HOST:    Well, Donald Trump has taken to Truth Social this morning to confirm Australia will protect the Iranian women’s soccer team. The US President, revealing he spoke to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who assured him, quote, five have already been taken care of and the rest are on their way, among other things. Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Amanda Rishworth and Shadow Treasurer Tim Wilson join me to discuss. Good morning guys, nice to see you. Amanda, first up, why are we hearing about this from Donald Trump?

AMANDA RISHWORTH, MINISTER FOR EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS:    Well, firstly, I would say that this is a very delicate situation, and I would say that there are a lot of complex factors involved, including families back in Iran. So, this is a delicate situation. I understand that our Home Affairs Minister will be providing an update, but it is a particularly delicate situation.

KARL STEFANOVIC:    There’s nothing delicate about Donald Trump. Can you give us some detail? How many players will be given assistance? I mean, it sounds like quite the mission to get these ladies out.

AMANDA RISHWORTH:    Oh, look, I’m not able to give you any individual details and circumstances, as you can imagine. Like I said, there’s a lot of complex factors at play, including, of course, families back in Iran.

KARL STEFANOVIC:    Okay, are you able to give us any information on whether they’ll receive permanent or temporary asylum at this point, or is it just assistance?

AMANDA RISHWORTH:    I’m just not able, Karl, to give you that information. I have no doubt that Minister Burke will be able to provide as much information as he can, but individual cases, you know, are unlikely going to be talked about in great detail.

KARL STEFANOVIC:    Okay. We’ll wait for that detail. Tim, Donald Trump says the PM is doing a very good job handling this delicate situation. Do you agree?

TIM WILSON, SHADOW TREASURER:    Well, I think the main thing we want is to make sure the processes are followed, Karl, because when it comes to the Prime Minister, he hasn't followed all the processes in the past in association with applications for asylum. Each case should be assessed on its individual merits, but they bypass security assessments when they brought people from Gaza. I want to make sure and I want to be confident that people who are seeking asylum go through the full processes, no matter their origin, no matter their circumstances, and he hasn't done that previously.

KARL STEFANOVIC:    OK, meantime, Amanda, while the world deals with the biggest oil disruption in history, Labor's saying there is no shortage of fuel in Australia. What planet are you all living on?

AMANDA RISHWORTH:    Well, let's be really clear. There isn't an issue with supply when it comes to fuel. There has been, obviously, an increase.

KARL STEFANOVIC:    Yes, there is. We've just had farmers on. That's a complete fabrication. We've just had farmers on saying they cannot get fuel. They cannot get fuel.

AMANDA RISHWORTH:    Let's be clear. There has been a spike in demand. It doesn't mean we do not have enough supply in this country.

KARL STEFANOVIC:    Farmers in the country are saying this morning they cannot get fuel.

AMANDA RISHWORTH:    As I said, Minister Bowen and Minister Collins will be working with industry. They've been talking with industry every single day. Of course, we've got to make sure the fuel can get where it needs to go. But the suggestion that there is some sort of shortage of supply in this country is not right. Yes, there's been an increase in demand. Yes, we've got to work on the supply distribution across the country and ministers are doing this. This has been incredibly unprecedented, but we have got more fuel in this country than we have in the last 15 years.

KARL STEFANOVIC:    But there's no- as we go to air this morning, you're saying there's no shortage of fuel?

AMANDA RISHWORTH:    In terms of supply, of course there are issues and there's been some issues around demand because people have gone to the petrol station to buy fuel. So, of course, there is an issue about making sure that fuel is where it needs to be. But this sort of suggestion that there is a crisis of fuel supply in this country is incorrect.

KARL STEFANOVIC:    Amanda, sorry, this is incensing me. I have got 7,000 messages from farmers out there in regional Australia who say they can't get fuel. They've got a weak supply that they've done on their own.

AMANDA RISHWORTH:    The government is, of course, working about how to manage the distribution and make sure that it's getting to the places it needs to get to. There has been a spike in demand, a lot of people going out and buying fuel. There's a spike in demand and the ministers are working together to make sure. But the suggestion that there's somehow not supply in this country, we have in terms of stockpile, the most amount in 15 years.

KARL STEFANOVIC:    Thirty days.

AMANDA RISHWORTH:    So we've got to work through these issues. We've got to work through these issues and ministers are doing so. But to suggest there's some sort of crisis is incorrect.

KARL STEFANOVIC:    Tim.

TIM WILSON:     The government has just simply made a complete hash of this. We went through four years ago- sorry, the end of four years ago, COVID. We've had four years prepared because it's been clear that international supply chains can't be relied upon in the way they could in the past. The government has done nothing to secure our capacity, our sovereign capacity as a nation to build our resilience.

AMANDA RISHWORTH:    That is not true at all, Tim, and you know it.

TIM WILSON:     … and when it comes down to it- well, Amanda, what I know is that currently, exactly as Karl said, farmers are trying to get fuel and they're not able to. And now we've got this hash response from the government desperately trying to patchwork a problem. This is- you know, these sorts of situations have been foretold. The government has not taken the action to protect our nation.

KARL STEFANOVIC:    Yeah, Tim, you should have increased.

AMANDA RISHWORTH:    Well, that is not the case at all, that is not the case.

KARL STEFANOVIC:    Tim, you should have increased supply as well when you were in government. I mean, this has been successive governments for a long time.

TIM WILSON:     Well, that's why we took out strategic oil reserves during COVID, but that's in the past. The question is, what did we learn from that? And are we building out protection security for Australia? And we have strategic reserves in different places for reasons to hedge against risk. This is the difference between hedging against risk, Amanda, or leaving ourselves fully exposed to risk, which is what you've done.

AMANDA RISHWORTH:    You did not have supply in this country. We have done that.

KARL STEFANOVIC:    Let's keep rolling because the longer this goes on and it doesn't, let's be honest…

TIM WILSON:    Tell the farmers.

KARL STEFANOVIC:    … it does not look like it's going to end any time soon, we're going to have a significant inflation problem. I mean, there's no way things don't go up if supply of fuel is disrupted, and that's what's happening right now. So the NAB is saying 5 per cent inflation. Amanda, this adds to an already significant burden on Australian wallets.

AMANDA RISHWORTH:    Well, look, of course, there is a real significant challenge. There is huge global volatility and uncertainty at the moment. Of course, we don't know how long this will go on for. And of course, countries around the world are challenged with this. But I would say that our country is in the best possible position to weather this global uncertainty. The national accounts just last week showed good growth, economic growth in this country. And so we are in a good position. But it's true, Karl, you can't completely protect against what is a really significant global volatility and global uncertainty at the moment.

KARL STEFANOVIC:    You can increase the level of reserves you have of fuel, I would have thought. Tim, just quickly, finally, 10 seconds.

TIM WILSON:     Well, let's face it. We had an inflation fire problem beforehand. Australians were already experiencing higher interest rates while the rest of the world was going the other direction. Yes, this is going to compound the problem, but the problem existed beforehand. That's where the government has continued to leave our nation exposed.

KARL STEFANOVIC:    Alright. Thanks for your time, guys. Get to it. Appreciate it.