THE HON ANDREW HASTIE MP

SHADOW MINISTER FOR INDUSTRY AND SOVEREIGN CAPABILITY
 FEDERAL MEMBER FOR CANNING

TRANSCRIPT

DOORSTOP, CANBERRA

Tuesday 31 March 2026

Topics: Changes to Australian tax settings; Donald Trump; fuel excise cut.

E&OE……………………………………

ANDREW HASTIE: We had a good chat yesterday. Angus told me he read my transcript – that's why he's a good leader, because he gets the facts first. I think there's a bit of scuttlebutt in the media, but Angus and I are good friends, and its business as usual.

JOURNALIST: Andrew, your relationship with Angus Taylor – has it improved or remained the same? How would you describe it?

ANDREW HASTIE: Our relationship is stronger than ever. He's given me the great honour of being part of his leadership team, and I enjoy working with him. We go back 10 years, and nothing has changed.

JOURNALIST: Do we need a tax on gas exports?

ANDREW HASTIE: I think we need to talk about our overall tax mix. People are unhappy with the political settlement as it stands, but one thing we don't want to do is have an increase in the net tax take for this country. We want more people and businesses being able to re-invest in their families and their operations, and taxing people is going to make it difficult, particularly with high inflation, high interest rates – consumer confidence is at its lowest since the pandemic. This is a fragile economy, and we are not in a robust position to sustain a twin energy shock from increasing oil and gas prices.

JOURNALIST: What's your message to your colleagues on tax? Do you need to have a genuine conversation that doesn't just talk about decreasing taxes? Do you need to have large scale reform of tax?

ANDREW HASTIE: I think we should be bold. At about 20 per cent primary vote, we need to be bold, and we need to be hearing what people are saying to us. There's a great number of people out there in middle Australia: they're not online – they're too busy working, they're too busy taking their kids to childcare, picking their kids up from childcare, spending a lot of time on the roads getting to and from work. These are people who just want a better deal for them, for their families and for their children. And I think unless we address those concerns, we're going to remain out of government. So my message is we need to listen show a posture of humility after a significant loss in 2022, a significant loss last year, and our primary vote being eaten away by both the left and the right.

JOURNALIST: Andrew, you probably would have seen the Prime Minister on 7:30 last night calling for Donald Trump to provide an end point to the war in the Middle East. Is the government taking the right approach by stepping up that kind of language?

ANDREW HASTIE: I think it's right and fair to ask for our closest security ally to give us a sense of where this is all headed. As you know, we're already experiencing economic shock as a result of the war. The question is: where is this going? Where does it end? What's the end game? I think that's a legitimate question to ask, particularly when we weren’t consulted on the war in the first place.

JOURNALIST: On that point, the vast majority of Australians blame Donald Trump more than the government for the current fuel shocks. Do you think the Coalition is being critical enough of the American administration – obviously very critical of Labor – but are you turning the eye on the Americans as well?

ANDREW HASTIE: I've raised concerns, and I think those concerns are legitimate. The Australian people should be looking at what Pauline Hanson said – twice now she's supported the war unreservedly, even suggesting we should send young Australians to the war. How does that help battling Australians who are already dealing with a massive cost of living crisis? Sounds like she's got her priorities wrong: It's MAGA first, not Australia first.

JOURNALIST: I mean, you have been outspoken, but your colleagues haven't. Do you think there should be more?

ANDREW HASTIE: I've expressed my view. What colleagues say is another thing, and it's challenging given that there are formal representations to be made. But I just want to make it very clear: our economy, at the start of this war, was very, very fragile – high inflation, low productivity – and now, with the additional shock of energy we are on the precipice here. That's why the government's test at the Budget will be getting us through these really rocky times.

JOURNALIST: Why is the cut in excise, from both sides, not seen as a race at the beginning of a race to the bottom on spending justified by helping households?

ANDREW HASTIE: Our spending was offset by using funding, or allocated spending, from the EV exemption under the Fringe Benefit Tax, the green hydrogen subsidies and also the Home Battery Program. We've offset this spending – the government hasn't. We've offset it to $1.5 billion – there's no additional spending, so we're not going to be driving inflation. We'd rather give money back to Australians at the petrol bowsers, particularly at this point of need – which will be significant over the coming weeks and months – rather than subsidising up to 75 per cent of EVs made in China. It's going to be $1.3 billion this financial year – the EV Fringe Benefit Tax exemption.

JOURNALIST: So that's it for the handouts now?

ANDREW HASTIE: This will be a discussion for the team, but we led here. We led here. We recognise that people are doing it tough. We called for the excise cut and the Heavy Vehicle Road User Charge to be cut last week, and the government followed. This is a this is a pattern. We saw this after Bondi – the government following – and again, the Coalition led last week and they're following now. Thanks very much.

[ENDS]