Andrew Clennell, Host: Joining me live, Assistant Foreign Minister and Immigration Assistant Minister Matt Thistlethwaite. Thanks for your time. Are any of these ISIS brides getting arrested today?
Matt Thistlethwaite, Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade: Well, that's a matter for the police. We've got nothing but contempt for ISIS and anyone associated with it. That's why there's no government support whatsoever. There's no repatriation. There were arrests when the previous cohort came back. Three of those people were arrested. They remain in custody and the law will be applied. We've said that all along.
Clennell: Have you had advice there will be arrests?
Assistant Minister: We haven't had any advice. That's a matter for the police force. We know that they operate independent of government, they apply the law, the laws are there. There are anti-terrorism laws and people that have been involved in crimes against humanity. They were the charges that the previous cohort will now face. So, if anyone's done the wrong thing, they will be arrested. I will also say one of them has been excluded --
Clennell: Yeah.
Assistant Minister: The Home Affairs Minister issued exclusion --
Clennell: How come?
Assistant Minister: Well, there's evidence from the security and intelligence agencies that that person may have been involved in activities that would warrant their exclusion from Australia.
Clennell: Why couldn't we exclude them all? Why do they have to land?
Assistant Minister: Well, you have to have the advice from the security and intelligence agencies to warrant that. At all times, we need to abide by the Australian law and that law has stringent criteria that the agencies need to meet and then they advise the Minister. So, the Minister needs to take their advice. And the advice at the moment is that one should be excluded.
Clennell: Did the Americans ask us to take these people back to clear the Syrian camp?
Assistant Minister: I'm not aware of that. It certainly hasn't come to me that there's been any request and as I said, there's no repatriation going on, there's no work from the Australian government to assist them whatsoever.
Clennell: What do you make of the latest US strikes in Iran and the prospect of a deal or no deal?
Assistant Minister: Well, we want to see a lasting ceasefire there, Andrew. The United States have said that it's a defensive strike, that it's well within the terms of the ceasefire. I think that we were looking at more positive outcomes, to be honest. The United States President had said that they were close to a deal. Iran, their leadership had said that they were close. Now this has happened. We want to make sure that there's de-escalation and a ceasefire as quickly as possible because Australians are paying for this and I think they're fed up and they're sick of it. They're paying for it at the bowser, paying for it in transportation costs and their goods and services, and they're fed up and they want an end to this.
Clennell: Penny Wong's gone to this Quad Foreign Ministers' Meeting in India. What's expected out of that?
Assistant Minister: Well, they've just come out of the meeting. I think the great strength of the Quad is in maritime security and that's been reinforced in the dialogue that's come out of it. So, a big focus on cooperation, particularly around the Indian Ocean, which we know is such a large stretch of water. We've seen how a small stretch of water like the Strait of Hormuz can be destabilised and the effect that that can have on our economies. Imagine something in the Indian Ocean would have a devastating effect on Australia. So, there's a big focus on that through Operation Malabar and other exercises --
Clennell: Will Iran be, was Iran discussed, you know, by the Foreign Minister with Marco Rubio?
Assistant Minister: It was discussed in the context of the ongoing instability and what the Quad nations can do together to support the ongoing security within the Indian rim. And the fuel security issue, that was discussed as well. So, there's an agreement for the nations to work together on fuel security. There was also an agreement for us to work on Port upgrades with Fiji. Maritime security, as I said, is a focus. So, there's an infrastructure project where the nations will work together on maritime security for Fiji.
Clennell: Could we see an extension of the fuel excise cut, do you think?
Assistant Minister: Well, there's no intention to extend it at this point in time, and --
Clennell: So that's it, three months, that's it?
Assistant Minister: Well, we made that decision to assist Australians with their cost of living. So, far it's helped it's got petrol prices back down a little bit, but the longer this conflict goes on, the more that it has to the opportunity to destabilise Australia. And we're monitoring it constantly, but at the moment it's for three months.
Clennell: How much grief are you getting in Kingsford Smith around the capital gains tax changes in the budget?
Assistant Minister: I've been getting positive feedback, particularly around housing issues --
Clennell: You're telling me no one's whinging to you about the capital gains tax changes in Kingsford Smith?
Assistant Minister: Sure, sure, Andrew. Look, we're talking about a big reform, so there's no doubt people who are concerned by that, and I've taken phone calls and emails about it, but at the heart of it, you've got a taxation system at the moment where hardworking Australians that are working their backsides off trying to get ahead are paying more tax than someone who is earning millions from just trading on assets, buying and selling assets. Now that's a system that's broken. So, we're restructuring the system to fix that, to equalise it a bit, so that hard working Australians that are aspiring to own their own home --
Clennell: But it would help if you weren't. Would it help if you weren't having a $77 billion net tax take over 10 years? I mean, you're not giving the tax cuts back yet. It looks like that's going to be the election promise.
Assistant Minister: Well, that's not true. We are providing tax cuts.
Clennell: Well there's 250 bucks.
Assistant Minister: Two tax cuts coming, and a $250 Working Australians Tax Offset. There's the $1,000 tax refund as well. But we've got to make a decision as well, Andrew, in the context of rising inflation, about not making that situation worse. And we've made judgments based on what we believe will help Australians with their cost of living but won't add to the inflation fuel.
Clennell: The fact the PM's grouped this legislation with the tax cut, the Working Australians Tax Offset, that's a cynical attempt to wedge the opposition, isn't it? Having the CGT and the WATO on the same legislation?
Assistant Minister: No, it's an exercise in ensuring that you've got a consistent tax system and that we can get the legislation through as quickly as possible. We want to make sure that working Australians benefit from these reforms, particularly around the changes to negative gearing as quickly as possible to make the housing market more affordable.
Clennell: How big will the carve out be for startups or small business, do you think?
Assistant Minister: Well, there's consultations going on, there's already quite generous carve outs for small businesses --
Clennell: But we can expect another carve out, do you think?
Assistant Minister: Well, we're constantly consulting about that. We're going to make our decision based on what's in the best interest of Australian businesses. But at the moment, companies are exempt. They pay tax at the company rate. If you're a small business, there's a whole host of exemptions. They will still remain in place. And we're actually putting in place new measures to support small businesses like the loss carryback. We're actually introducing a new tax refund for startups from the 1st of July, 2028. There's a lot in the budget that people haven't been talking about around supporting small businesses and helping them to grow.
Clennell: Matt Thistlethwaite, thanks so much for your time.
Assistant Minister: Thanks, Andrew.