Television interview with Minister Butler, Sunrise – 7 November 2025

NATALIE BARR, HOST: The Liberal Party is losing members hard and fast. More than 200 people have walked away from the South Australian division of the Liberal Party, reportedly fed up over Sussan Ley’s leadership and the party’s failure to reach an agreement over net zero. It comes as Liberal MPs will return to Parliament on Wednesday to finalise their position on the policy that is causing them so much grief.
 
Joining us now is Health Minister Mark Butler and Liberal Senator Jane Hume. Good morning to both of you. Jane, we’ll start with you. More than 200 members reportedly walking away from the SA division. Is this a local issue or a warning sign of a broader identity crisis within your party?
 
SENATOR JANE HUME: Look, I can understand, Nat, why Liberal Party members, and indeed the public more broadly would be frustrated looking at the images that they’re seeing on their television of the Coalition in the last few weeks. But there’s a reason why this debate is happening, and it's because it's urgent right now. We all want to see emissions come down, but we've also seen our electricity prices rise by 40 per cent under Labor. Businesses are closing their doors every day and our manufacturing base is hollowing out. Now, cheap energy has been the foundation of Australia's prosperity for decades. That's gone under Labor. We have to get this policy right because Australia's future depends on it.
 
BARR: Jane, are you confident with the way the Coalition is taking your stance to the government?
 
HUME: It's really important that we come together and work out exactly what this policy is going to look like to deliver not just lower emissions, but also lower energy prices. There is a pathway there. We can reach a low-emissions future and we can have lower energy prices.
 
BARR: But in the meantime, is there just no opposition?
 
HUME: But Labor's not going to deliver that, Nat. That's why we need to make sure that we have this discussion and get it right.
 
BARR: But is there no opposition at the moment?
 
HUME: There absolutely is an opposition.
 
BARR: Doesn’t feel like it.
 
HUME: And we need to be holding this government to account because while we're discussing energy prices, people are getting bills at home that have gone up by 40 per cent. They're relying on subsidies just to get by. Inflation keeps going up. The economy has stalled. Unemployment is beginning to rise and productivity has stagnated. This is happening under Labor's watch. We need to make sure that we hold this government to account for its failures because it promised you $275 off your energy bill, and unfortunately most families are now paying about $1,300 more on their energy than Labor promised.
 
BARR: Okay, moving on. Australia's public sector wage bill has gone through the roof. It's topping $250 billion now. Mark, the Prime Minister has defended this nearly 10 per cent rise in federal public sector wages. The RBA didn't cut rates this week because of inflation. Is your spend on public sector wages affecting inflation?
 
MARK BUTLER, MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND AGEING, MINISTER FOR DISABILITY AND THE NDIS: The Governor of the Reserve Bank made it clear that the public demands, the public spending was less of a contribution to what was happening with prices across the economy. That story that I know Sussan Ley's been trying to get up just is false and was contradicted by the Reserve Bank Governor. Our wages deal for public servants I think is very reasonable. It's in line with community standards. About 11 per cent over three years is a pretty moderate wages deal. But we have been increasing public service numbers in areas where service levels need to improve. Veterans is a terrific example of that. Veterans were waiting for years to get their claims processed, some of them dying in the process. So, yes, we've lifted employment numbers in that area. There are employment numbers in Services Australia to make sure that people claiming a pension get that processed in an efficient, timely way. Big numbers in defence as well. There are big numbers of public servants in an economy like ours. The vast bulk of them working in state government hospitals and schools and police stations. But yes, as the employer -
 
BARR: An increase of 9.5 per cent – it seems a lot, though.
 
HUME: It’s a hell of a lot.
 
BUTLER: The service levels we inherited in some areas, veterans is the best example of that, were just appalling. And we make no apology for employing thousands of more people to process the claims that people who've worked in our uniforms are making for proper support and proper compensation. We've also brought in-house the sort of rampant numbers of consultants and contractors, brought them in-house, which is cheaper and provides better service as well.
 
BARR: Okay. Just while I've got you, Mark, are you getting any feedback on dismantling the Medicare app and forcing everyone to link it with their myGov? Because I was in a circle of password death and had to call the authorities, call the hotline. It took me a week to sort it out. I'm seeing other people doing the same. Why did you dismantle it? How much did it cost? What's happening here?
 
BUTLER: We found when we did an audit of users of all of the different government apps that had grown up over time that they wanted more convenience and more consolidation. We're going through a process through Services Australia of bringing all of the different government apps under the myGov app as well, and the Medicare app is just one of those. It's obviously widely used. I want it to be accessible for people. But over the course of November, if you haven’t -
 
BARR: Have you tried it, Mark, yourself? Have you linked it?
 
BUTLER: The myGov app? I’m in the process of linking it.
 
BARR: No, linking your Medicare with your myGov.
 
BUTLER: I'm in the process of doing that, Nat, as I'm sure a whole bunch of people are. We were notified in August of that, but like so many people I put it off.
 
BARR: I must’ve missed that.
 
BUTLER: I have to do it now. But just to be safe, Nat, I always carry this beautiful green and gold card with me for when I go to the doctor or when I have a TV camera in front of me as well.
 
BARR: Yeah, you learned that off Albo, I bet.
 
BUTLER: I know how much it pleases Jane to see me whip this green and gold card out every Friday morning.
 
HUME: We love a gimmick.
 
BARR: Jane, have you tried to link your Medicare with your myGov app and did you find it simple, Jane?
 
HUME: Have I tried? Goodness me. No, I haven't got there yet, but I'm very glad that -
 
BARR: You guys need to try.
 
HUME: All of those public servants that Mark has hired are out there to help you. That's why it took you a week, Nat. Isn't it extraordinary?
 
BARR: Maybe it’s just me.
 
HUME: You know, when your public service grows faster than the economy, this is what happens. Your prices are going up, your productivity is going down and you're not getting better service.
 
BARR: Okay, if you had trouble linking it, let us know. Good luck. Maybe if you link it this week, let me know, report back next week and see if you two had any trouble.
 
HUME: I’ll be finished by next week, yeah.
 
BARR: Okay, thank you. See you next week.