TV interview with Minister Butler, Sunrise - 30 May 2025

NATALIE BARR, HOST: Well, after many setbacks the Coalition is now in clean up mode. The Liberals and the Nationals have made up and are looking to get back to business and put their short rift behind them. It comes as former PM Tony Abbott urged Sussan Ley to rise above conflict within the Party and focus on parliamentary leadership above anything else.
 
For more, I’m joined by Health Minister Mark Butler and Liberal Senator Jane Hume. Good morning to both of you. Jane, we’ll start with you because you’ve been relegated to the backbench after this reshuffle. Do you think this was payback from Sussan Ley for the role you played in the work from home policy?
 
JANE HUME, SENATOR: Nat, if you’re asking me whether I feel hurt or slighted by this move from Sussan, well, look, of course it hurts. It hurts professionally because I was such a hardworking and prolific and high-profile member of the frontbench in the previous opposition. And it hurts personally too because Sussan and I are friends. But isn’t this the point? This isn’t the playground, this is the Parliament. I’m not here to make friends, I’m here to make a difference. I’m here to fight for the future of your kids, my kids, their kids, for freedom and choice and personal responsibility, and reward for effort and the importance of small business and the dangers of big government. And I will continue to do that every day from whatever position I’m in. And in fact, there is something very liberating about being on the backbench and being able to speak without having to stick to the party line, and without having to stick to talking points. That’s certainly going to make for much more interesting Sunrise interviews, so you’re very lucky, I think.
 
The most important thing we can all do here now is get behind Sussan Ley, put our shoulders to the wheel, because there’s a very big task ahead of us. Not only to win back the hearts and minds and votes of Australians, but also to hold this terrible government to account. And that’s exactly what I’m going to be doing every day, and every single one of my colleagues are going to be doing every day.
 
As my very wise mother would say, stop your nonsense, chin up, chest out, straighten your tiara and let’s get on with the job.
 
BARR: Okay. Look, you say they’re terrible. Most Australians voted for them though, and they’ve got lots of seats. Probably more than most governments have ever got. So, let’s talk about things that are important to Australians. Our new research reveals support for the sugar tax charge is increasing. They’ve surveyed nearly 3,000 Aussies, found more than half of participants believe a levy should be applied. More than 80 per cent want better labelling to warn shoppers they contain added sugars.
 
Mark, the Public Health Association of Australia has called on the Federal Government to intervene here. Obesity is a growing problem, bigger than smoking now. Where do you stand?

MARK BUTLER, MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND AGEING, MINISTER FOR DISABILITY AND THE NDIS: They’re right. Obesity is really one of the big public health challenges we face today and it's going to grow into the future. We've got a range of measures under consideration there. We're focused more on educating shoppers with good front-of-pack labelling about the things they're thinking about buying at the supermarket. There is no plan in our government for a sugar tax. We're instead focusing on education and also working with food manufacturers to reduce the amount of sugar that they put into their products.
 
BARR: Is that working, though, if obesity is increasing? Would it force manufacturers to rethink the sugar they put in their products if they realise they couldn't keep charging the extra for their products?
 
BUTLER: As I said, we want to work with food manufacturers. We've had good success in some areas at reducing the amount of sugar that they put into ice creams, a range of other products that are available at supermarkets and also making sure that shoppers are given the best possible information about what's actually in the products. You don't see that in the label. You don't see that in the names necessarily of what they're thinking of putting into the trolleys. That's why we need an independent, authoritative, front-of-pack labelling system.
 
BARR: Yeah, labels are so hard to work out. They did this in the UK, though, Jane, and they found a year later children's daily sugar intake had fallen, so had adults. Where do you stand?
 
HUME: Well, let’s face it, Labor have never met a tax that they didn't like, and with a $1.2 trillion debt ahead of them. I reckon they'll be looking for just about anything to help contribute to that. So, I wouldn't be surprised if we see a sugar tax on the agenda of this Labor government. It wouldn't surprise me at all -
 
BARR: So, you support it?
 
HUME: Now, whether it works or not, that remains to be seen. But I’ll reckon that, you know, if there’s a tax to be made, Labor will bring it on.
 
BARR: So you don’t support it?
 
HUME: We don’t support additional taxes.
 
BARR: Okay. We thank you very much. We’ll see you next week. Here’s Shirvo.
 
HUME: Thanks Nat.