SENATOR THE HON KATY GALLAGHER
MINISTER FOR FINANCE
MINISTER FOR WOMEN
MINISTER FOR THE PUBLIC SERVICE
MINISTER FOR GOVERNMENT SERVICES
SENATOR FOR THE ACT
E&OE TRANSCRIPT
TV INTERVIEW
ABC NEWS BREAKFAST
THURSDAY, 27 NOVEMBER 2025
SUBJECTS: Hong Kong, historic environmental reforms, October inflation figures, public service funding.
BRIDGET BRENNAN, HOST: We are joined by Finance Minister Katy Gallagher this morning from Canberra. Good morning, Minister. I know that you're on a tight schedule, so I won't keep you too long. But I did just want to ask about what's happening in Hong Kong. Obviously, there are a lot of Australians with connections to Hong Kong, and would be quite distressed by these pictures this morning. Do we have any update so far from DFAT?
SENATOR THE HON KATY GALLAGHER, MINISTER FOR FINANCE: Thank you for having me on, Bridget. And yes, obviously, those pictures coming out of Hong Kong are horrific, and on behalf of all Australians, I think we send our deepest sympathy and care to all of those people and families affected by that horrific fire. Look, DFAT have set up a consular assistance line, so we'll make sure that you get the number so that you're able to provide that to make sure that families here can keep in contact and seek information. Obviously, it's an unfolding situation, and so, as more information comes to light, I think we'll be in a position to share that.
BRENNAN: Alright, thank you very much, and yes, we can share it with viewers who are concerned about loved ones in Hong Kong when we get that line. Minister, let's talk about the environment laws. It has been crunch time this week for those proposed overhauls of those long-awaited laws. Is there any breakthrough coming this week?
GALLAGHER: Look, we've made significant progress this week. Obviously, Murray Watt has been working on this since May. It's been a key priority for the Prime Minister and the team to get these bills done. You know, they've been five years in the making, five years since Samuels, business and environment groups, and everyone acknowledges that we need better fit-for-purpose environment laws. We've made substantial progress, including progress overnight, and there will be more to say about that later this morning. We're very keen to get these bills done and make sure that we've got them in place and got the right time to get them up and started.
BRENNAN: Alright, some challenging inflation news out yesterday. This will be more pain for Australian households, won't it?
GALLAGHER: Look, certainly, those numbers show that inflation is higher than we would like. They do jump around a bit in the monthly data. And I think that it just reminds us of why it is so important that a lot of our cost-of-living measures still continue to flow through to help households. We get that they are under pressure. But we've made a lot of progress on the inflation front. Much lower than when we came to office. And we've got a lot of things going for us. We've got relatively low unemployment. We've got wages moving. We're getting the Budget in better shape. So, we've just got to continue on this path and stay focused on all of the economic challenges as they present themselves.
BRENNAN: Electricity prices are still high for many families and a big portion of their budgets. What decisions are you making into next year about additional rebates and whether that will be needed?
GALLAGHER: So the rebates were always seen as not a permanent feature of our cost-of-living assistance. Obviously, we take a whole range of information into account when we are finalising those decisions. We've got MYEFO coming up towards the end of this year. That won't be a mini-Budget, but obviously, we'll be thinking about all of these things in the lead-up to the Budget in May.
BRENNAN: In your area in Canberra, there will be people concerned over reports that some departments will have to cut 5% of their budget, that that will mean job losses and another blow for local families. Can you give us some clarity about whether or not that indication will mean that some departments will have to cut jobs?
GALLAGHER: Yes, I think that there's been a bit of misunderstanding about what's going on here. We are certainly, since we came to government, have been seeking savings for the Budget. The Budget is in deficit, and there's a lot of pressure coming at it for new spending, whether it be in defence or aged care or health. And we're trying to manage all of that. But we have asked departments to have a look at their lowest priority, essentially their lowest 5% of what their business is, and have a think about whether or not they need to keep doing all those things. It's really about fiscal discipline. There's been no instruction to cut budgets by 5%, or that we are cutting budgets by 5%. That's just simply incorrect. We have asked departments to have a look at how they're spending their budget, and whether or not some of their budget should be reallocated to more pressing priorities, and this is really to help us when we're trying to manage all of the new pressures for spending so that we're able to reprioritise existing expenditure. But it's not about job losses, and it's not about budget cuts.
BRENNAN: Alright, Katy Gallagher, thank you for your time on News Breakfast this morning. We'll try to bring you that number that the Minister mentioned there. I think we've got it now.
JAMES GLENDAY: Anyone who needs consular support should call 1300 555 135. That is from within Australia. If you're overseas and you're watching us streaming, and a lot of people do, it's +61 2 6261 3305.
ENDS
