TV interview with Minister Butler, Today Show – 29 June 2026

TOM STEINFORT, HOST: Well, it seems Pauline Hanson's vision for a monoculture isn't exactly washing well with voters, because new polling from the Australian Financial Review has revealed One Nation has taken a hit off the back it. Joining us to discuss today's headlines is Health Minister Mark Butler and Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs Ted O'Brien. Hello to you both. Mark, starting with you, Labor is now back on top of One Nation. Do you think you've got Pauline's press club address to thank for that?
 
MARK BUTLER, MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND AGEING, MINISTER FOR DISABILITY AND THE NDIS: Look, I think what people are doing after the media frenzy and commentators after the budget, which is usually what you get every single year, is focusing on what they're getting. There'll be another tax cut later this week, two tax cuts in this year's budget that we passed through the Parliament last week. First homebuyers recognised that the Australian dream of home ownership might actually be within their grasp after seeing it slip further and further away for so many years. And small business, after all the frenzy, I think is focusing on the almost $4 billion in tax relief in last week's legislation as well as the total carve out from any change to their capital gains arrangements. There's always this frenzy after a budget, but I think people are focusing now on the relief that's coming from this government at a time of real pressure on households and business.
 
STEINFORT: Ted, turning to the Coalition's numbers there, I mean, slipping even further, the primary vote at 18 per cent. I mean, you're not far from the Greens overtaking you. Where are you guys at?
 
TED O’BRIEN: Well, Tom, look, I think some things that Mark said are right. I think the average Australian isn't all that interested in the polls. I think they're very interested in where they're at.
 
STEINFORT: Come on, surely your party's interested in them at the moment when you see them going that direction.
 
O’BRIEN: Well, look, any politician would be a fool to not look at the polls, but they'd also be bigger fools to read too much into it. But you do have Australians right now copying the brunt of the biggest fall in living standards in the advanced world. Real wages have gone backwards. Productivity has gone backwards. Australians are being stung with higher taxes by this government. Front page of The Aus today talks about 400,000 small businesses who are going to be punished by this government.
 
So, look, people are feeling the pain right now. The budget hasn't helped, and Mark is right. Post-budget, of course, you do see some fluctuation in polls. You know, I spent over 20 years in business. You don't change the fundamentals of your business based on daily fluctuations in the stock exchange.
 
STEINFORT: No, but we're seeing a trend here. Interestingly, though, your successor, Jane Hume is claiming that Hanson is not the enemy. Do you agree, or is it time to change tack and get on the attack, I guess, with One Nation?
 
O’BRIEN: Well, I think the key question isn't who's the enemy, but rather who you're fighting for. And for the Liberal Party, we are fighting for small businesses. We're fighting for families. We're fighting for hard-working Australians, all of whom are being punished by this government, which is why our job is to keep the government to account but also to present positive policies. And that includes our plan to have one of the most significant tax cuts in history; $250 off year one, year two, $500, year three, $750, year four, $1,000. This is the biggest personal income tax that we've seen in a generation, and that's due to the Coalition's plan. That's what we're putting forward.
 
STEINFORT: We'll move along, because major capital cities, they've recorded their worst auction clearance rates in years. Mark, the Telegraph today, it's calling your Treasurer the homewrecker. I mean, there are just bad headlines left, right and centre for your government in the wake of this budget. At what point do you say, we've got this wrong?
 
BUTLER: A pretty focused headline from the Daily Telegraph isn't anything new. It's a daily event for the Daily Telegraph. What we’re -
 
STEINFORT: Yeah, but okay, let's focus there again on the auction clearance rates from the weekend. Prices coming down.
 
BUTLER: You held it up, Tom, so I couldn't let it go. But, look, I think what we're focusing on really is the news we're getting really from every city, from real estate agents, about auctions on Saturday afternoons being dominated by first home buyers. They're bidding against other first home buyers for the first time in a very long time. They're not having to bid against investors that have the benefit of a tax break in their pocket. And that's the terrific thing. That's what we were focused on with these tax changes.
 
As I heard John Kehoe say, a little earlier on your program, there's a lot happening in the housing market. A lot of it was happening well before the budget. As the rate increase started again earlier this year, we started to see an impact on clearance rates. Look, you've got to remember that the war in Iran led to the biggest hit on consumer confidence in 50 years. After wave of wave of pressure that we've seen from the pandemic through to the war in Ukraine, now to the war in Iran, people are very cautious about their household finances. Of course, the Budget's probably had an impact, but look, it's only a few weeks since then. The main thing, though, we were focused on is getting young Australians back into the housing market, having a fair crack at getting access to the Australian dream, and we're really gratified by the fact that we're hearing a lot of news about that from Saturday afternoon auctions.
 
STEINFORT: Well, yeah, those that are selling, though, probably not so happy with how things are panning out. Just quickly from you, Ted, do you want to see property prices going up or down?
 
O’BRIEN: We want to see affordable property. What we don't want to see is a collapse in the property market, which is the risk because of Labor's budget. People aren't bidding right now, not because they don't want to own a home of their own, but they've lost confidence in the economy. And the economy is being managed by Labor. And you know what? It happens every time. These guys can't run the economy. They can't manage money. And the Australian people have lost confidence. and that's what you're seeing through these figures.
 
STEINFORT: Yeah. All right, Mark, Ted, appreciate your time this morning. Thank you.
 
O’BRIEN: Thanks so much.