Emma Rebellato, Host: Okay, let's get more though now on our top stories this morning. The Assistant Foreign Minister, Matt Thistlethwaite joins us now from Sydney. Thanks for joining us this morning.
Matt Thistlethwaite, Assistant Minister FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE: Good morning, Emma. Thanks for having me on.
Rebellato: Let's start with what's going on in the Middle East. We've seen the strikes traded between Iran and Israel. They've now halted. How worried is the Australian Government that this cease fire could collapse at any moment?
Assistant Minister: Well, it's a fragile ceasefire and we want it to become a permanent ceasefire. Australians are becoming increasingly frustrated with the stop, start nature of this conflict and its ongoing effects on our economy and the international economy. They're paying for it at the petrol bowser, it's starting to flow through to household items, particularly food and groceries. We just think that enough is enough. And that's why Australia has joined our international partners in calling for the parties to get back to the negotiating table and try and nut out a lasting peace that will see these conflicts and these incursions that seem to flare up every now and then stop. And most importantly, the Strait of Hormuz open permanently.
Rebellato: There have been calls in the past week or so for Australia to lower the travel advice for, for Middle East airports in particular. We know that a lot of Australians are still heading overseas, they're heading to Europe and they're travelling, they're transiting through some of these countries now with the level four. From what I gather that insurance won't cover it if you are stopping and transiting through these airports. Is Australia reconsidering its travel advice?
Assistant Minister: Well, we assess those travel advisories on a daily basis and they're aimed at ensuring that the safety of Australians is paramount. And we've seen unfortunately in the last couple of days another flare up in those tensions with missiles being fired towards the Middle East. And obviously we don't want to see any Australians that may be transiting through or working and living in that area at risk at all. So, that's why we have those travel advisories in place. They're based on the best available evidence, but we assess them on a daily basis and if there's any possibility of changing that travel advisory, then obviously our government will look at doing that. But at the moment, the safety of Australians is our first consideration and we believe that it's unsafe to travel.
Rebellato: It's been a few days since Donald Trump announced the proposed 12 and a half per cent tariffs on Australia, as well as a number of other countries. How much of an impact could that have on Australian exporters if that goes through?
Assistant Minister: Well, obviously it could have an effect on Australian products that are being sold into the United States. And we reiterate our call that these tariffs are completely unjustified and unwarranted. They've been put in place because of the US's perception around anti-slavery and forced labour provisions. Australia has some of the most stringent and strongest anti-forced labour and modern slavery laws in the world and they require the largest corporations in Australia to check their supply chains and ensure that they're not using forced labour or slavery-based practices in their production of their goods and services. So, these tariffs are completely unjustified, we'll continue to try and negotiate and work with the United States to have them removed as quickly as possible.
Rebellato: On another topic, there's been yet another poll out this week showing One Nation just above Labor on first preference votes. What are you doing wrong? Can you turn it around?
Assistant Minister: Well, we hear what the Australian people have to say, and I think that those polls, Emma, reflect the pressure that a lot of Australian households are under with cost of living pressures associated with the war, with mortgage interest rates rising once again recently. And we hear people, we know that you are under a lot of stress and that is why we are acting to change the system and rebalance it in favour of working Australians. And all of our changes in the Budget around capital gains tax, negative gearing, fairer taxes for trusts are all aimed at ensuring that we rebalance that system back in favour of working Australians who are working really hard to try and make ends meet, but feel that they can't get ahead. But the ironic thing is that it's actually One Nation and the Coalition that are acting to defend the current system. They want to keep the current system in place. Well, Labor wants to change it and rebalance it in favour of workers.
Rebellato: Well, just on that, there's some new data that's been released showing that Australians were happier during the COVID-19 pandemic than they are now. Does the government have to take responsibility for that?
Assistant Minister: Well, I think that that reflects the fact that Australian households are under such financial pressure. And, yeah, we do. We do realise that many Australian households are doing it tough and we hear what they have to say, but that is why we're acting. That is why we are changing the system and we're making sure that we rebalance it and that it works in favour of those working Australians and their families that are working so hard to try and get ahead. The tax concessions in our system are really balanced in favour of people who are buying and selling assets and making profits off that. If you're a working Australian working hard to make ends meet, you're punished under the current system because the more you work, the more you're taxed. We want to change that system and make sure that the tax concessions favour people who are working rather than those making millions off buying and selling assets.
Rebellato: Minister Matt Thistlethwaite, thanks for your time this morning.
Assistant Minister: Thanks, Emma.