TV interview with Minister Butler, Today Show - 19 January 2026

KARL STEFANOVIC, HOST: Labor's facing an uphill battle this morning, just like that. Their shake-up to the hate speech bill, still not enough to guarantee the Coalition's support. Health Minister Mark Butler and Deputy Opposition Leader Ted O'Brien join me now to discuss. Hope you guys are going better than I am this morning.
 
SARAH ABO, HOST: Oh, stop it.

TED O’BRIEN, DEPUTY OPPOSITION LEADER: Well, I haven't been punched in the eye, Karl. So that’s a good start.
 
ABO: Now it’s a punch.
 
STEFANOVIC: The day is only early, Ted.
 
MARK BUTLER, MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND AGEING, MINISTER FOR DISABILITY AND THE NDIS: Surely there’s an urgent care clinic somewhere near you. You only need your Medicare card, Karl. All you need is your Medicare card.
 
O’BRIEN: Always on message Mark. Always on message mate.
 
STEFANOVIC: I like it, I like it, Alright so Mark, you got dragged kicking and screaming into a Royal Commission. Now your emergency legislation is a dog's breakfast. Super start to the year for you.
 
BUTLER: We've got the right Royal Commission in place, focused obviously on the terror attack at Bondi, but also on antisemitism and social cohesion broadly, led by a former High Court judge. And these coming two days we're going to have a very important parliamentary sitting. Today is a day of condolence and of healing and of grief, but tomorrow's going to be a day of action and there'll be a focused couple of bills in the parliament, one of which I think particularly depends on the position of the opposition, cracking down on hate preachers, cracking down on hate groups and giving the Minister for Home Affairs more powers to throw out people who are here enjoying the privileges of Australia on visas but are actually spreading hatred. Now's the time for some unity and some action on the part of the Parliament after the worst terror attack in our history.
 
STEFANOVIC: The PM wasn't going to split the bill under any circumstances or remove any elements. Now he's doing both and wants a deal. He's all at sea.
 
BUTLER: We brought an omnibus bill into the public sphere, released it a week ago, that reflected the decision of the National Cabinet the day after Bondi to crack down on gun ownership and on hate. We said at the time we were open to suggestions. We wanted to hear suggestions from other parties, which is why when the Coalition said they couldn't support gun reform, we separated that out…
 
STEFANOVIC: That's not what the PM said, though.
 
BUTLER: What the PM said last week was that we wanted constructive amendments. We still haven't got actual amendments from the opposition, but we did hear that they didn't want gun reform contained in the same bill, so we've separated that out. We heard they didn't want racial vilification laws, in spite of that being a key recommendation of the antisemitism envoy, so we've removed that. Now, we've got a focused piece of legislation tomorrow to crack down on those hate preachers and hate groups and allow the minister to throw people out of the country if they're here on visas spreading hate. And really, now's the time for the Coalition to present some unity and some resolute action on the part of the Parliament.
 
STEFANOVIC: Omni bill, it sounds more like an omnishambles. Ted, have you guys got a position yet or do you need more time, given you asked for all of these things to happen as a matter of urgency?
 
O’BRIEN: Karl, our position hasn't changed, which is we will do everything to work in the national interest.
 
STEFANOVIC: But you had a meeting last night. What's your position?
 
O’BRIEN: Yeah, we did. We did have a meeting last night, now that the Prime Minister has finally woken up to the fact that he can't just go alone on this thing. He decided to go solo. He refused our engagement, our input on designing the bill. It all fell apart. Now he's thrown his hands up in the air and he wants some help.
 
STEFANOVIC: So what's your position?
 
O’BRIEN: So our position is that we will work with the government as best we can. Today is indeed all about condolences, but as speeches will be made in the parliament today, there will be negotiations with the government. We just have to keep squarely focused. Not on the politics, but on what's in the national interest here. And the coalition has been consistent with our view. We have to tackle the scourge of antisemitism. We have to tackle the scourge of radical Islamic extremism.
 
STEFANOVIC:  I know, of course, of course.
 
O’BRIEN: That's our principle and that's what we'll be doing today.
 
STEFANOVIC: So you'll outline it today is what you're saying, not this morning?
 
O’BRIEN: We'll be discussing with the government today, and I obviously won't be pre-empting those negotiations on morning TV, other than to say that we are very genuine in wanting to ensure that we deliver something in the national interest. We're not here to try to make sure we fix Albanese's problem, because he's created it with this mess of a process. If there is something with which we can agree, we'll be there in a heartbeat. We do have concerns and we've already expressed some of those concerns and there'll be further discussions with the government today.
 
STEFANOVIC: Meantime, Mark, while you both faff about, Pauline is surging in the polls. What a shock, Mark, voters like clear and strong leadership.
 
BUTLER: I don't think there's any surprise that after a period of such trauma, a summer of such trauma, that the polls are jumping around. There's two sets of polls out this morning. Interestingly, they present very, very different pictures in a range of points, but both of them present a surge in support for One Nation. Newspoll has One Nation now coming second after Labor with the Coalition running at third. But I'd expect that volatility after what we've experienced as a country.
 
STEFANOVIC: You'd expect One Nation to be right on your tail?
 
BUTLER: I'd expect volatility, and you see two very different polls out this morning. The Channel 9 poll is one and the Newspoll is the other. We're not focused on those. We've been working hard right through summer to get our settings right, get the response right to the worst terror attack in our history. These are hard laws, Karl, you know. I mean, governments of both political persuasions have tried to get a legal response to the hate preachers right. We've not been able to get it right. Tomorrow is really the opportunity to crack down on that hate.
 
STEFANOVIC: Okay, Ted, One Nation, how does that feel for the Coalition to be behind them?
 
O’BRIEN: Well, Karl, it does depend on which poll you look at. We’ve got one poll where-
 
STEFANOVIC: Yeah, there's been enough consistent polling now to show that they're right on your measure.
 
O’BRIEN: Oh, well, look, I mean, we're up in one poll on the primaries and then we're down in the other. I do think that at times of national crisis, what usually happens is the stocks of the Prime Minister go up. In both polls, they've gone down. And I think this is where One Nation comes in. I think this ends up reflecting poorly on politics as an institution. I think the Australian people are feeling unsafe. They're feeling unsure. And I think they're sending a very clear message to Canberra that they're not happy with how things have been tracking.
 
STEFANOVIC: I think that’s true. Finally, Mark, are we going to join Trump's new Board of Peace?
 
BUTLER: We're considering that request. We only just received it. It's important to remind your viewers, Karl, that this was endorsed by the UN Security Council. We've welcomed President Trump's plan for peace in Gaza. I think everyone across the world wants to see an end to that conflict and that killing. We'll go through that process of talking with our allies in the US administration about that request. But it's a broad direction that we've been very supportive of, as has the UN Security Council.
 
STEFANOVIC: Alright, appreciate your time, guys, and good luck today.
 
O’BRIEN: Thank you.

BUTLER: Thanks.