TV Interview with Minister Butler, Sky News - 15 May 2026

PETER STEFANOVIC, HOST: Well, Angus Taylor is putting it all on the line with major cuts to tax and immigration in a budget reply last night. Joining us live this morning is the NDIS Minister, Mark Butler.
 
Minister, thanks for your time today. First, let's start with Angus Taylor's budget reply and your first thoughts to that.
 
MARK BUTLER, MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND AGEING, MINISTER FOR DISABILITY AND THE NDIS: He put it all on the line except detail, except costings. You can't put a tax package out there without telling the Australian people how you're going to fund it. You can't sort of say you're going to overhaul migration without putting a number on it and specifying what areas are going to be cut and being upfront with people. I think that was the problem last night. There was a lot of big talk, a lot of overblown rhetoric and precious little detail for people. After he huffed and puffed on that dog whistle he borrowed from Pauline Hanson, at the end of the day, there wasn't much detail and a lot of, frankly, classic failed Liberal policies like the Peter Dutton nuclear power plan.
 
STEFANOVIC: Well, the $22 billion has been estimated to be the cost of indexing. The Treasurer has ruled that out, but does this in your view change the calculation for your party at all?
 
BUTLER: Look, we've got funded responsible tax cuts rolling out on 1 July this year, 1 July next year. The additional tax offset we announced on Tuesday night, a standard deduction that will benefit millions of people, a $1,000 deduction without having to come up with receipts. All of this is responsible, it's fully funded, and that's not what you saw last night from Angus Taylor. You saw hollow promises. And again this morning, Jane Hume has not been able to tell people how they'll pay for this.
 
STEFANOVIC: But on the question of indexation, would you go back to that at all, even though the Treasurer has ruled that out?
 
BUTLER: The Treasurer has been clear: we've got a tax policy. It's delivering tax cuts every year over the next couple of years, an additional tax offset we announced on Tuesday night, and all of that is paid for, budgeted for. We've been up front with people about the costings on that. That's what Angus Taylor hasn't been able to do.
 
STEFANOVIC: You've been up front before and then changed your tune, or lied. How are you going to deal with that moving forward?
 
BUTLER: I think people have been coming up to me and all of my colleagues now for a long period of time saying how desperately worried they are about their kids getting into the housing market, their grandkids getting into the housing market. Now, we're adding to supply, we've made it easier for them to break in with a 5 per cent deposit, but still they find themselves at auctions bidding against investors who have the benefit of a tax break in their pocket. We just want to give kids an even break. And if we don't take some action soon, we're going to continue to see that great Australian dream of home ownership slip away from young Australians.
 
STEFANOVIC: Let's get to the NDIS, and just briefly on Angus Taylor here, because he wants to make major cuts to migration by kicking migrants off the NDIS. What's your response to that, firstly?
 
BUTLER: Of course, temporary visa holders have never been able to access schemes like this. What we're really talking about is permanent Australian residents. That's what he's talking about. People who have been told they're here for life, their kids who are usually born here, are here for life, they're opening businesses, they're paying taxes. But if they suffer a catastrophe, like becoming paralysed from falling down the stairs or something like that, Angus Taylor says you're on your own. You won't get the support of the government to whom you've been paying taxes for years.
 
STEFANOVIC: Sure. So when you say TPVs never had access anyway, I mean, is that to say that this plan by Angus Taylor wouldn't affect that many anyway?
 
BUTLER: This is permanent Australian residents. You and I and all of your viewers know permanent residents who've been here for years, in some cases decades, from the UK, from Italy. So going forward, he's saying those people aren't worthy of the support of an NDIS that they've helped fund through being a permanent Australian resident, not temporary visa holders. They've never been able to access schemes like this. These are permanent Australian residents. There are hundreds of thousands of them right now. Some have been here literally for decades, had their kids here, built businesses here, but apparently aren't worthy of the support of a scheme like the NDIS according to Angus Taylor.
 
STEFANOVIC: Well, on that, so on your plans, the Senate has kicked it off to an inquiry now. The Greens calling it dangerous legislation, so I guess they've dealt themselves out. Can these laws pass by 30 June, or is this a sign of delays that could occur?
 
BUTLER: The Senate committee will report by 16 June. We welcome the inquiry. It's a good opportunity for people to have a look at the bill, to make submissions about it. I was pleased that Angus Taylor indicated a willingness last night to work with us on this important, necessary reform. Melissa McIntosh has been very constructive in our discussions as well. But obviously they want to look at the detail of the bill, and I think this committee inquiry is a very good idea. We supported it.
 
STEFANOVIC: And just on hantavirus, I know you've got to go. Is there an update at all on how those patients or those who are affected are going before they land today?
 
BUTLER: They were tested before they got on the plane. The plane's on the way back to Australia. We expect it to land later today at RAAF Base Pearce, northeast of Perth. They'll be transported immediately to the quarantine facility that's effectively next door, and they'll be tested again. But at the moment, they've tested negative, they're symptom free, and they're going to be put into the strongest quarantine arrangements you'll find anywhere in the world. Most countries are letting their repatriated passengers go back home after two or three days. We're going to have at least a minimum quarantine period of three weeks, staffed by experts that have been deployed from Darwin there, because I'm determined to make sure there is zero risk of this virus getting out into our community.
 
STEFANOVIC: Mark Butler, appreciate it.