Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister, Assistant Minister for the Public Service, Assistant Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations
DAVID MONCRIEFF, MEMBER FOR HUGHES: Good morning. I'm David Moncrieff, Member for Hughes in Southern Sydney. This week, the Federal Government is introducing landmark legislation taking on the harms produced by social media through our Digital Duty of Care. Over the last few weeks, I've been going to graduations across my electorate from Menai High School, Ingleburn High School, Bosco College, Inaburra School, and parents across my electorate have been telling me all about how much concern they have for the harm that these social media algorithms are doing to the young people in our community.
Our government has taken these harms seriously through our social media age delay. We have taken on these big tech companies and ensured that they are held to account for the harms that they are causing to our young people. This reform is building on that, and I'm so excited to be able to see these big tech companies helped to account for the harms that they're doing to our young people.
JOURNALIST: What do you say about the the small business campaign against the Government about not paying their tax on [inaudible]?
MONCRIEFF: Well, I've been going to small businesses right across my electorate with my small business booklet, giving some information about some of the amazing work that this Federal Government has done for small businesses in our community.
What we're focused on is ensuring that consumers are able to pay the price that they see on the label. The RBA's reforms have done that, and we've acted quickly to ensure that some of the issues with it around the Australian Tax Office have been addressed, and we are really focused on ensuring that Australian consumers are able to pay the price that they see on the label.
PATRICK GORMAN, ASSISTANT MINISTER TO THE PRIME MINISTER: I want to back in what David said about the importance of the work the Government's doing this week on introducing the Digital Duty of Care. There has been extensive consultation. We have heard from families, parents, people who have seen the absolute worst of the internet, and we want to make sure that we have for Australian children, an internet that is safe for them. But also, to make sure that power stands with the Australian community in choosing what they see in their feeds.
And while we're focused on that, you can't help but notice the leadership turmoil that is happening in the Liberal Party. We had last night on Channel Nine's, 60 Minutes, Josh Frydenberg out there putting his case to lead the Liberal Party. He said that he still thinks about being Prime Minister one day. He said very clearly that he wouldn't rule out a return to politics.
And then he said his agenda would be to increase the GST. Now that means that the Liberal Party are having an internal fight about how much more they want to tax the Australian people. A 15 per cent GST would mean that Australians would pay thousands of dollars more each year just to get their basics. Now that's not economic reform; it's a blow to Australian households.
And what I think is telling is that in the Australian today, you see members of Angus Taylor's own team backing Josh Frydenberg's plan to increase the GST over backing their own leader. Now, poor Angus Taylor already had to play second fiddle to Pauline Hanson on the weekend at CPAC, and now he's having to play second fiddle to Josh Frydenberg, who is out there doing one of the most audacious leadership bids from outside the Parliament, and I think the Liberal Party needs to be very clear. If they back their leader, they've got to say so, every single one of them, as they walk past these doors, and if not, why is Angus Taylor still there?
JOURNALIST: You've been around for a long time. You sound like - Frydenberg could be a bit of a threat if he came back.
GORMAN: I am very happy to have a contest with any Liberal Leader who proposes increasing the GST to 15 per cent and changing the GST arrangements. Because that's not economic reform. And I'll note that it's not economic reform that Mr. Frydenberg pursued when he was adding hundreds of billions of dollars of debt to the pile when he was last Treasurer of this nation.
I would also note that the Liberal Party really do need to say, you know, is there no one good enough in their party room right now to lead their show. Is that how bad the Liberal Party have become, that there's not a single person in the Liberal Party party room who they think is good enough to be Prime Minister. I mean that's a terrible reflection on the state of the Liberal Party.
JOURNALIST: Do you think it was embarrassing for the Government last week when the Treasurer had to come out and extend the ATO surcharges till next June?
GORMAN: I welcome decision that the Treasurer took to make sure the ATO extends that to support small business and to make sure there's a proper transitional arrangement.
JOURNALIST: So, did you botch it up coming out too early on that decision?
GORMAN: The broader decision is about making sure that we have one set of rules when it comes to how people pay for goods, so that the price that you see on the sticker is the price that you pay at the checkout at every business in Australia.
JOURNALIST: It's a bit of battle now with small small business coming up with a campaign against those changes. What do you say to small businesses?
GORMAN: I will say to small business that I'm always here to listen, and we're always here to make sure that we back their customers. If you look at the agenda of this Government, we've been out there cutting taxes, making sure people can earn more. That is about putting more money in the pockets of customers across the country, so that they can shop local and back small businesses. That is the agenda we've got. It is one of the best ways you can support small business - is to make sure that customers have the money to go and buy the things they need, and also those things that give them a little bit of joy as well.
And just one last thing, I can't help but note that today is the first sitting day where we'll see the new Greens Leader David Shoebridge take on the role. He has become - after getting the leadership for himself - he's become a convert to internal party reform for the Greens Party. He says that for the next leader - Supreme Leader David Shoebridge will be there as long as he likes - but for the next leader, they'll allow Greens Party members to have a say.
Now, if David Shoebridge really believes in democratic reform of his own party, he needs to change the long-standing Greens policy of refusing to allow the media to access Greens Party conferences. They have been completely locked out.
And even at CPAC on the weekend, you could see that the media were welcomed in, but the Greens Party still don't do any of their internal democracy in front of the cameras. It is an absolute closed shop. And that results in some very strange decisions from the Greens Party.
And I'll call on David Shoebridge today to change the policy of the Greens Party, where they have refused to put One Nation Last on their how to vote. At the 2025 election, the Greens Party could not bring themselves to put One Nation last in a range of seats in Western Australia. Now, if David Shoebridge thinks that that is acceptable and that's the sort of leadership he's going to offer, there are going to be a lot of questions about what he truly stands for. Thank you.
