E&OE TRANSCRIPT
RADIO INTERVIEW
4CA CAIRNS
THURSDAY, 7 MAY 2026
Topics: Social Services; Family, Domestic and Sexual Violence; Fuel Supply
MURRAY JONES: Good morning, it's 846 4CA. The sun is shining. Perfect time for a visitor. Would like to welcome to the studio this morning the Federal Minister for Social Services, Tanya Plibersek. Good morning and welcome to Cairns.
TANYA PLIBERSEK, MINISTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES: It's so great to be with you again, Murray, and at this time of year, you're right, perfect.
JONES: Yeah. Compared to Canberra, even Sydney. You've been blessed the last day or so.
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: I hear it's very cold in Canberra and I'm not keen to find out.
JONES: Well, look, welcome to Cairns. You've had a busy day yesterday and today as well. Obviously quite a large ranging portfolio that you're involved in now, as the Minister there for Social Services. Just for the benefit of the audience, just can you touch on some of the things that are covered in what is such a wide ranging portfolio?
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: Yeah, of course. I mean, look, there's all the standard things, I'm responsible for pensions and payments like disability support pension and age pension, obviously. But in, yesterday and today up here in Cairns, I've been focusing on a really important part of my job which is reducing rates of family, domestic and sexual violence and keeping victims and survivors safer, helping them leave violent situations. And also this morning I'm going to be at the Financial Counselling services conference as well. So, those people who do such great work helping people get their finances back on track, if they've had a shock.
JONES: It's a bit of a funny situation here in Queensland. Obviously, for the coffers of the government, it's great, but the damage it does to families in particular and for kids is a real concern.
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: Oh, it really is. I think every Australian knows someone who's been hurt by problem gambling or they've been hurt themselves. And we've actually doubled counselling for problem gambling. Just recently the Prime Minister announced that as part of our package to restrict advertising around sporting events, like the gambling ads that are constantly coming at you and encouraging kids to be, you know, betting actually during the game, we've put some, we've put some restrictions on that because we, we don't want kids to, to grow up thinking that if you're not gambling, you're not really enjoying sport.
JONES: Sure, yeah. There needs to be that separation. Can we talk about violence, I mean obviously, and for good reason, we do have concerns in relation to stolen cars. We've got, you know, a fairly serious youth crime issue still here in Townsville and Cairns. But domestic violence is something that I've always spoken about in so many ways. It's a far more insidious issue here in tropical North Queensland and right across the nation. And it's something that I know the government is looking to address because coming back to the impact, particularly on families and kids, it really is a very serious issue that does need more attention.
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: Oh, 100%. You're talking about stolen cars. Kids should be at home with their families at night. They shouldn't be wandering the streets. And one of the things we know is that if home is a safe and healthy and welcoming place to be, then more of those kids will be staying home with their parents. We've got a problem, not just in Australia, but globally with rates of violence in family homes and sexual assault. We've got some good figures that tell us we're heading in the right direction. So, over the last 20 years, the rates of domestic homicides, for example, have slowly been tracking downwards. And that's a good thing. I mean, the numbers jump around year on year, but over time the long term trend has been in the right direction. And then we've got some really worrying numbers as well. So, sexual assault through the roof and sexual assault, particularly young people against other young people, really, really worrying trends there. And big part of my job as the Minister of Social Services will be to sort of set the direction long term on how we can, how we can fix some of these problems.
JONES: And look, you know, it's a very wide ranging issue. I recently saw that, saw that documentary by Louis Theroux and talking about this manosphere. And there's certainly a culture that's impacting a lot of younger people, particularly through social media. And I think it's one of the things that's contributing to really a regression in society when it comes to equality. Something that we've always been very proud of in this country. But sadly there's been a regression. And in kids as young as, you know, often 11, 12 years of age, we're seeing quite a different mindset, particularly in boys. And it is a real concern moving forward.
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: Yeah, well, Murray, a lot of teachers will tell you and even parents will tell you that they've seen some, you know, pretty cheeky attitudes, some of these boys being-
JONES: To put it nicely.
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: Yeah, well, they're being influenced by some very unhealthy role models online and what we know is the best antidote for that are strong male role models in their own lives. Like I said a minute ago that there's a worrying trend in sexual assaults amongst young people increasing. The best protective factor against kids going off the rails is a strong male role model in their lives. It's a loving relationship and an open relationship with their dad. Mums are really important too, obviously, but for young boys, having a man that they can look up to who is strong and gentle and treats women with respect is the best protective behaviour against that. And we've got to reassure those good men in our community that the role they play in setting social norms is really important, that the boys are watching them.
JONES: And sadly, so many men are stepping down when it's a time when men need to step up in relation to these type of things. And I guess also considering it from the perspective if they've got daughters and the way that they'd like their daughters treated as well.
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: Oh, 100%. But, you know, the reassuring thing here is most men say, I really want to do something about violence against women, I feel terrible when I see these reports, you know, in the news, I wish I could do something. And the truth is, you can. The truth is that the most important figure in a young man's life is that father figure, whether it's their dad or their granddad or their sporting coach or their teacher, that shows through his own behaviour what it is to be strong. Now, strong and angry are different things. Strong and gentle is the sweet spot I think.
JONES: We’re seeing things online when it comes to men. Sadly, they're grading the concepts of diversity and equality. But I think the real men can see, you know, what the benefits are and basically see the place that we all, you know, the role that we all play in society.
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: Equality's good for everyone. Equality frees men as much as it frees women.
JONES: Yeah, yeah, Right. Oh, look, let's just change, change tack just a little bit. And I know quite an important announcement just yesterday in relation to the fuel. Thankfully, we're doing actually pretty well here in Australia and I think the polls are showing actually a bit of a lift for Labor, because Labor, I guess, has been recognised by the electorate of really assisting to move things forward here just in relation to the medium term future. Have we still got concerns in relation to the fuel issue here in Australia?
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: Well, look, the global situation is a real worry. Of course, the government's watching what's happening in Iran and the Strait of Hormuz very carefully. This is not a conflict we chose. It's not something that we would have, you know, welcomed or gone into if we'd, if we'd had a choice. We've got to deal with the consequences. And the way we're dealing with the consequences, I think, should reassure Australians. We've got 33 days of diesel, 43 days of petrol and 28 days of jet fuel. Right now we've got more fuel than when this conflict started. We're taking action with our trading partners to secure more fuel stocks in the future. And also, of course, fertiliser. We know that that's a critical input for farmers up this way and right across Australia. We need to make sure that fertiliser's available as well. We just announced yesterday another $10 billion. So, we'll have government owned fuel stocks in the future. We'll move to 50 days by 2030. It's a big investment. But we see that the world is an increasingly uncertain place. We're also, you know, doing a lot to try and take some of the price pressures off. We cut the fuel excise, we cut the heavy vehicle road user charge and we're making sure that organisations like the ACCC, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission are able to prosecute more easily if we think there's any price gouging happening, we're protecting our two remaining refineries. I mean, it's a real shame that we've only got two in Australia at the moment, but we're making sure that if they struggle with profitability, the government's there to back them. We don't want to lose any more of these refineries. So, right across the board, including making sure that truckies are being appropriately paid, like, we've actually added powers to make sure that truckies don't bear the brunt of this increase in fuel price with unfair contracts. We want to make sure that Australians get through this as easily as possible. It's a very uncertain world. We're under pressure globally, but we as a government want to protect Australians from feeling that as much as we possibly can.
JONES: Yep. And we're certainly seeing it in the bowser. And as far as the ACCC is concerned, we're seeing a lot more of a level playing field. So, it seems like when it comes to the, some of the measures to stop the gouging, they're working. Enjoy the sunshine, get out of the studio. Enjoy some of the colours of tropical North Queensland. The Minister, Federal Minister for Social Services, Tanya Plibersek. It's always wonderful to see you thanks for dropping in.
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: Great to see you, Murray.
ENDS
