Television interview with Minister Butler, Sunrise – 6 June 2025

NATALIE BARR, HOST: Beef grown in the US may become the dangling carrot to secure us as a tariff deal with Donald Trump, with reports the Albanese Government is considering tweaking our biosecurity laws to bring American beef down under. Government officials say changes to our beef import rules could be put on the table to the Trump Administration to lock in an exemption from the President’s wide ranging global tariffs. For their take, let’s bring in Health Minister Mark Butler and Liberal Senator Jane Hume. Good morning. Mark, how will the government ensure our biosecurity is protected if these rules change?

MARK BUTLER, MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND AGEING, MINISTER FOR DISABILITY AND THE NDIS: We’ll be making a decision on the national interest, Nat, as you would expect us to do. That’s what we’ve done in relation to pharmaceuticals. We’ve said there’s no way our PBS will be on the negotiating table and we won't compromise our biosecurity laws either. We've been reviewing this issue for some time. This is US beef that's raised in Canada or Mexico, not cattle that are raised in the US itself, but then brought into America, slaughtered there and then proposed for exports. But this will be a decision taken on its merits, not for convenience, not to get a deal. We'll be taking a decision in the national interest in this area, as your viewers would expect us to.
 
BARR: So it is on the table to take US beef to get a deal on tariffs with America?
 
BUTLER: No, I think the point is that there has been a review underway by our biosecurity officials unrelated to this trade issue for some time. US beef that is raised in America and slaughtered in America can already be exported to Australia. The biosecurity officials have cleared that. This is a slightly different question about beef that is raised over the border in Canada or Mexico then brought back to America and slaughtered there. Our biosecurity officials have been reviewing that question to see whether that situation complies with our very strict biosecurity laws.
 
BARR: Okay. Jane, would you support that as the opposition?
 
JANE HUME, SENATOR: The Coalition will always agree with free trade agreements. We want to see the US step up and adhere to the free trade agreement that we already have with them. We're very disappointed that Anthony Albanese has not yet gone on a plane and met with President Trump to discuss these new tariffs that are being imposed on many of our industries. We certainly don't want to see a watering down of our biosecurity laws that would potentially put our beef industry in danger. This isn't about protecting an industry's prosperity, it's about protecting an industry's integrity. So if you are tweaking biosecurity laws by watering them down, that's something that I think that we would be very concerned about.
 
BARR: Okay, let's move on. There are concerns this morning that the government's proposed new superannuation tax will impact future generations, with about half to a million people currently in the workforce to pay a higher super tax by the time they reach 65. Labor's current plan is to lift the rate of tax from 15 to 30 per cent for those with super balances of more than $3 million. That won't be indexed to keep up with inflation though, meaning many young people may be taxed more in the future. Mark, will the government reconsider indexation on the super tax plan?
 
BUTLER: You're right, Nat. Only one in 200 people would be currently caught by this. We don't index tax thresholds in this country. We never have. I don’t propose, I don’t imagine that Jane is proposing that we do that. It would have a huge impact on our budget. But of course, governments review tax thresholds on a very regular basis. The idea that this wouldn't be reviewed, that number I think assumes for 40 years, is utterly fantasy and just shows there's just scaremongering around this issue as there is every time we propose a sensible moderate change to superannuation tax. We've had this out for two years.
 
Jane said at the last election she wanted to raise the taxes of every single taxpayer by repealing the tax cuts we delivered in March but won't put in place, won't agree to a sensible, moderate change that would make very generous tax breaks slightly less generous for just one in 200 Australians with very big super funds.
 
BARR: Jane, at the moment, as the government says, this affects about 80,000 people. It would increase to somewhere between half a million to a million people. What's your plan?
 
HUME: So the Coalition will always back lower and simpler and fairer taxes. This superannuation tax grab meets none of those criteria. It's a deliberate design feature to not index the tax threshold. That way, more and more people will be caught up every year. If you're an average 20-year-old today earning an average wage, you will be caught up in this Labor tax. So when they talk about reform, when they say that this is modest, it is nonsense. This is a massive change. And it's not just the fact that it's not indexed, it's the fact that it's on unrealised capital gains. You're being taxed on profits that you haven’t made yet. This is a terrible tax. It should be dumped. It should be dumped and we will oppose it every step of the way.
 
BARR: Yeah, unrealised gains. We're going to talk more about that because if you have a farm, Mark Butler, or a small business in your self-managed super fund and it tips over the value of $3 million, then you will be caught up in this.
 
BUTLER: This was the design recommended by Treasury. This has been out here for more than two years. Jane and her colleagues have made not one single proposal to modify. All they've said is no. They haven't changed -
 
HUME: We’ve opposed it because it’s terrible. It’s terrible -
 
BARR: Does that make it right because they didn’t talk about it during the election, though, Mark Butler?
 
BUTLER: They haven't learned. They say we should spend more on defence. They say -
 
HUME: No, we don’t -
 
BUTLER: That we need more aged care, as we obviously do -
 
BARR: But we're talking about this now, because people have worked out what is involved now.
 
BUTLER: But every sensible revenue measure, they oppose. Now, look, this was the design recommended by Treasury -
 
HUME: New taxes. Why not just cut your spending? Why not cut your spending rather than just tax Australians more and more?
 
BUTLER: But you’ve said we should increase defence spending. We obviously have to increase aged care as we age. We increase health -
 
BARR: Okay. We’re not on defence. We're talking about unrealised gains. We're running out of time, but we are going to-
 
BUTLER: No, we’re talking about, we’re talking about revenue to spend on things that matter to the Australian people. Defence, aged care, health, education -
 
BARR: We're talking about unrealised gains, paper profits on super- super profits in people's superannuation funds, which is going to hit farmers and people with small businesses. We're going to do more on this because we've run out of time, but we might get you back to talk about it. Thank you very much, both of you. We'll see you next week.
 
HUME: Thanks Nat.