Radio interview with Minister Butler, ABC Radio National – 15 May 2026

SALLY SARA, HOST: Well, the Federal Government has dismissed the Opposition Leader's budget reply speech as uncosted nonsense. Angus Taylor outlined a plan to cut immigration numbers, capping them based on the number of homes built each year. He's also proposed what he described as generational tax reform by automatically indexing income tax brackets to inflation. Mark Butler is the Federal Minister for Health and Ageing, Minister for Disability and the NDIS as well. Minister, welcome back to Breakfast.
 
MARK BUTLER, MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND AGEING, MINISTER FOR DISABILITY AND THE NDIS: Thank you, Sally.
 
SARA: What did you make of this speech last night?
 
BUTLER: After Angus Taylor was done huffing and puffing on the dog whistle that that he borrowed from One Nation, there were a long list of vague, hollow promises. These things might be good ideas, but until you actually tell the Australian people how you're going to pay for a tax plan like that, they're not worthy of much serious attention. We've got tax cuts rolling out this year, next year. An additional one we announced on Tuesday night, and they're all paid for. They're all funded. Angus Taylor couldn't tell people how he'd pay for this last night. They've not been able to do that this morning. They've got a migration plan without a number. And on top of that, you had all of the old greatest hits like Peter Dutton's nuclear power plan, pretending that you don't need to act on climate change frankly, it was a pretty hollow performance.
 
SARA: You were using the term dog whistle in connection with the speech last night. Why?
 
BUTLER: I just think that the language they use around migration, pretending that you can label an entire nationality rather than individuals, I think has been this recurring theme you've seen in their commentary about migration.
 
SARA: Which language last night?
 
BUTLER: You've seen this consistently over the past time that there are groups of people who have values that are inconsistent with Australian values rather than individuals who have values that are inconsistent with Australian values. This is the problem the Liberal Party finds itself in. Trying to out One Nation Hanson is never going to work. It's just never going to work. Putting a sensible, costed, funded plan before the Australian people was the challenge Angus Taylor had last night, and he failed it.
 
SARA: What were the remarks last night which were dog whistling?
 
BUTLER: This idea of values and the targeting of individuals. This is not just an isolated speech. This has been something we have seen over the past several months from the Coalition, including Angus Taylor. And having a neutral immigration plan has been a bipartisan position for decades in this country. There was a challenge to it in the 1980s from John Howard, we all remember. But other than that, it has been a strong position. Of course, individuals must be assessed on their character. But this idea that there are labels you can apply to particular communities is something he has to turn his back on, and he failed to do that last night.
 
SARA: Were any labels attached to any communities last night?
 
BUTLER: This was just a return to the language they've been using. Now, for some period of time, when asked about a bad country, when he used it the first time several weeks ago, they pointed to the Iranian community. We've seen it in relation to Chinese Australians before.
 
SARA: But not last night?
 
BUTLER: It is the same language that Angus Taylor and his team have been using for some time now. Let's just get from the major parties at least, even if you won't get it from One Nation, from the major parties, a reaffirmation of an immigration program that served Australia very well for decades. Of course individuals must be assessed on their character, but the immigration program that served Australia well for many decades should be one that the alternative prime minister is able to support.
 
SARA: Is it fair enough to expect that welfare benefits across 17 areas outlined last night should be reserved for Australian citizens rather than permanent residents?
 
BUTLER: Let's talk about one of them for which I have responsibility, the NDIS, because that's got a bit of coverage. We're not talking about temporary visa holders, as you make clear, they've never had access to a program like the NDIS. We're talking about permanent Australian residents. And your listeners, you and I would know so many of them who've been here for years, some of them for decades, having kids here, building businesses here, certainly paying taxes here, and the government of the day has said you are here permanently, you're here for life, your kids are here for life. But what Angus Taylor has now said is if you fall down the stairs and become a quadriplegic, you're on your own. You are not going to get the support of a government scheme to which you have contributed through your taxes, and I think that's an extraordinary change. This is not about temporary visa holders. These are people who the government of the day has said, you are here for life, but you do not deserve the support of a scheme that you've helped pay for, like the NDIS. And Angus Taylor should tell permanent residents, what does that mean if you suffer a catastrophe that leaves you a quadriplegic, or you suddenly develop a profoundly disabling neurological condition?
 
SARA: On a separate issue, earlier this week the government published a report that shows it takes 12 months on average to get a spot in an aged care home or secure at-home support. Why was that released on budget day when most of the press gallery was in lock-up?
 
BUTLER: The fact that you're asking me a question about this, and there have been a series of media questions about it over the last couple of days, shows that it's out there, it's transparently out there. It was provided to the Minister for Aged Care over the last couple of weeks, and it should be out there. That was the purpose of the amendment to the aged care legislation when it went through the Senate.
 
SARA: Why budget day? You know that's when all the journos are very busy and locked up doing other things. Why do it on that day?
 
BUTLER: That was the first day we were back in Parliament after several weeks away. I really don't understand the importance of these process questions that we've been getting over the last couple of days. I don't understand why we're not getting a question about the wait times or the substance of the report rather than whether it was released on Tuesday or Wednesday. Obviously all the journalists have it. It's not a report that was only important for a single day. It's a trend report that we've been asked about over the course of this week. The critical thing is that we're getting waiting periods down. The latest report that we did on a quarterly basis showed that the wait period for Home Care Packages was down by about 25,000, so from 125,000 to less than 100,000. That's at a time of surging demand. And that's going to continue to be a challenge, as you know, Sally, with an ageing population, but one we're determined to meet.
 
SARA: You joined us on the program after announcing changes to the NDIS, and on that occasion you heard a soundbite from 16-year-old Patrick Saunders, who's an autistic non-speaker in South Australia. He's using a spelling board to communicate. He said he wanted to meet with you. I understand you've agreed to a meeting, is that correct?
 
BUTLER: Yeah, my understanding is we've got a meeting in the calendar. I can't remember when it is, but it's in that period between the parliamentary sittings. So it's either next week or maybe the week after.
 
SARA: Mark Butler, thank you for coming in this morning. I appreciate it.
 
BUTLER: Thanks, Sally.