Senator the Hon Michaelia Cash
Shadow Attorney-General
Leader of the Opposition in the Senate
Senator for Western Australia
1 APRIL 2026
Channel 7 Sunrise
Topics:Trump tweets, US-Iran conflict, fuel security, childcare sector, small businesses, RBA surcharges
E&OE
Natalie Barr
For their take, let’s bring in Housing Minister Clare O’Neil and Shadow Attorney-General Michaelia Cash. Good morning. Clare. Go get your own oil. That was the quote, and the US won’t be there to help you. It doesn’t sound like words from an ally.
Clare O’Neil
Look, I think, in the scale of late night missives from Donald Trump, this is nothing particularly out of the ordinary. When it comes to the conflict in Iran, we have a pretty simple view. We want to see de-escalation of this conflict, not escalation, and we want to see a clear timeframe for how this conflict will be brought to an end. This conflict is not just creating considerable economic damage to US citizens. It’s creating damage to our citizens, and it is a fair request for us to understand what the clear objectives are for this war and how Donald Trump is planning to bring this to a close.
Natalie Barr
As a government though, do you sit there exasperated? Do you sit and roll your eyes? What do you do when you see stuff like this?
Clare O’Neil
Look it’s absolutely inconsistent with the decades long, close partnership and friendship that we have had with the US. Australian soldiers have died, you know, in multiple wars, supporting US endeavors. But we see these tweets are coming out from Donald Trump. You know, they come out every few days. It’s not something that we see as particularly bothersome. I think the main priority for us right now is we’ve got a considerable conflict that’s been started by the US. It’s having impacts for us here in Australia that are serious and are going to get more serious the longer the war goes on for. We want to see de-escalation, and we want to see a clear time frame for how Donald Trump is going to bring this to an end.
Natalie Barr
Michaelia, is it fair for Donald Trump to tell us to start learning how to fight for yourself?
Senator Cash
Well, I think you don’t ever take an alliance for granted. I mean, this was really a comment in relation to NATO allies, but I think the message for Australia is very, very clear. Wei must be stronger, more focused and more prepared when it comes to our own fuel security here at home, given in particular our reliance on the Strait of Hormuz. The President has obviously singled out Australia twice, and there does appear to be a little bit of confusion in relation to what our response has been in relation to any United States requests. The Prime Minister says there’s been none. The Deputy Prime Minister says there has been some. And I think at a time like this, more than anything, Nat, what Australians need is clarity and consistency from our Prime Minister. But as I said, the message is pretty clear for Australia, stronger, more focused and more prepared in relation to our own fuel security here at home.
Natalie Barr
Ok, moving on, a landmark report into Australia’s child care sector has exposed shocking failures to protect our children, warning that fundamental safeguards are giving a false sense of security and that there are major loopholes being targeted by child predators. Clare, we know the government is already doing work to fix some of those errors. There are 23 total recommendations. Will you adopt them all?
Clare O’Neil
Nat, as you know, I’ve got a child that’s still in the childcare system. My youngest is still in kinder at the moment, so I read these reports as a parent and not just as a politician, and it’s absolutely harrowing, like gut wrenchingly awful to read some of what’s occurred here and the way that these evil predators have used loopholes in the system to access our children. The government works really closely with the Liberals and other political parties on this. This is not a political battle. This is a unified national effort to try to make sure that when you drop your kid at childcare, you can be confident that they will be safe from harm. So the government’s done a heap of work on this already that’s had good bipartisan support. If there are things in this report that are going to help keep Australian children safe, then obviously the government is going to actively consider them, and we’ll work with Michaelia and her colleagues to put a better system in place here. One thing I absolutely know, you know, for families out there, you entrust your beautiful child in the care of others, we have to create a system where parents and families can do that, knowing that their kid is going to be safe.
Natalie Barr
Finally, small businesses have warned that prices for customers will soon increase after the RBA scrapped surcharge payments. Michaelia, let’s start with you. We’ve got a viewer who’s written this in, a small business owner called Michelle. She’s texted in saying small business is hurting. Our profit is getting eaten up with fees and taxes and expenses, payday super payments, possible minimum wage increases. Junior award rates have been abolished. We’ve got surcharges. We’ve got fuel expenses, not to mention actual price increases. We’re on a hamster wheel with no way of getting off. Watching the news last night, everyone saw that the RBA is scrapping these fees. And you think, great. But Michaelia, it sounds like businesses are going to have to pass these on.
Senator Cash
Well, after what you just said, Nat, why would anyone be a small business in this country? I don’t know how much more pain they can actually take, and they’ve been pretty up front. What looks like a good announcement is actually something that they are just going to have to pass through to the consumer. So on the one hand, you look like you’re actually lowering a cost, but on the other hand, they’re just going to pass it through to you, and your coffee is actually going to cost more. So we’ve always said, everything that we can do to lower those costs for small business so they can have viable businesses, it has to be done by this government, including lowering the cost of processing payments. But more than that, ensuring that there is a more level playing field between a small business and the bigger supermarkets. So unfortunately, Nat, small businesses can’t afford to be smashed anymore, and they’re just going to pass these costs on, which means the consumer, Mum and Dad Australia watching this show, you, sadly, pay more.
Natalie Barr
Yeah. Clare, it sounded good when the RBA said they’re scrapping the surcharges. But you know, next minute we’re going to pay, aren’t we?
Clare O’Neil
Look I don’t think it has to be that way, Nat, this is a fantastic thing for Australians. I think it’s a goddamn outrage that the banks are charging us to use our own money, especially in an economy where the vast majority of people don’t use cash anymore. Of course, some do, and we respect that. But for someone my age or younger, you know, we use our cards for everything, I think we really need to go back to the banks on this one. Our banks in Australia are making record profits. I do not believe for one second that these transaction fees that they’re charging are absolutely necessary. They’re the ones that should take the hit, not the consumers.
Natalie Barr
But the small businesses have come out saying we will be hit with them, and so we either absorb them or we give them to you. So what’s going to happen?
Clare O’Neil
Look, Nat, we shouldn’t be charged fees to use our cards. These are the ways that we access our money every day in this economy, and it’s an outrage that we were being charged them. So we are scrapping those fees and saying to the banks, they need to absorb this. It shouldn’t fall on small business to do so. The most important thing though, here is about consumers. Australians should not be charged fees to use their own money, and that’s the way that this change will work.
Natalie Barr
But the small business is going to be charged.
Senator Cash
Exactly. It misses the point.
Natalie Barr
Yeah. So because the small business is going to be charged that, we know that. So we don’t want them – they are mums and dads – we don’t want them to absorb it. So can you like, pick up the phone to the banks? What can you do as a government?
Clare O’Neil
Look, I’m really respectful of the difficulty of running a small business in this country, and I would never downplay that. I just say, let’s not forget about the banks here. These guys are raking in record profits, and it is not right that they’re charging us to use our own money. And now Michaelia says that the consumers should continue to pay these fees. She can come out and say it, I disagree. I think consumers should be able to get –
Senator Cash
That is not what I said.
Clare O’Neil
– they should be able to access their own money without having to pay for the privilege
Natalie Barr
I think it’s what can we do to stop them charging?
Senator Cash
Correct. The reality for small business is they have been smashed left, right and centre. They have been open about this. You take the cost away. We now have no choice but to pass it on to the consumer. So what do you do for small business? They have been telling us that the processing costs themselves are too high for these types of transactions. The government needs to work with small business to lower those processing costs so that they actually can lower their own costs and not pass them on to the consumer. But also, it’s the bigger reality of the deregulatory challenge that this government refuses to take up on behalf of small business. Your intro, Nat, why in God’s name would you be a small business under Labor in Australia?
Natalie Barr
Yeah, okay, look, we’ve got an expert coming on. But as you said, Clare, we’ve got to do something about this. We might follow, we’ve got an expert. We’re going to ask them how we can stop the charges actually getting to pass the small business on to us. Thank you very much. See you next week.
Recent Comments