Interview with James Glenday, ABC News Breakfast

JAMES GLENDAY, HOST: Time to talk federal politics now, and we're joined this morning by Albanese Government Cabinet Minister Murray Watt, who is in Canberra. Murray, welcome back to our program. MURRAY WATT, MINISTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND WATER: Hi, James.

How are you? JAMES GLENDAY: I'm very well, thank you. Now, in recent weeks, your government's been very critical of Pauline Hanson and One Nation more broadly, and this morning opinion polls suggest that Pauline Hanson's standing with voters has taken a hit.

Are the two things related? MURRAY WATT: Well obviously, James, it’s a long way to the next federal election and the polls will bounce around a bit, but I think that we have seen a bit of a change in the public mood towards One Nation since Pauline Hanson's Press Club speech. I think that Press Club speech was a bit of a reality check for a lot of Australians who were thinking about voting for One Nation because they got to see that as much as people are under pressure at the moment, things could get a whole lot worse under One Nation with all of the cuts that they were talking about imposing.

It's a little bit like a shopper at a supermarket who reaches out for a product because they like what the label looks like, but then then they have a look at the ingredients of the product and realise it actually doesn't look that appetising after all. The sort of cuts to healthcare, the cuts to wages, making it easier for people to be sacked by their boss. I think for a lot of Australians who are feeling real cost of living pressures, people have realised that One Nation might actually make things much worse than they're feeling at the moment.

JAMES GLENDAY: I'm not going to subject our viewers to death by poll analysis for the next two years until the federal election, but I am curious as to your view. Your party in particular, as well as I would say members of the Opposition, have really sharpened their language on Pauline Hanson. Is this how to deal with One Nation, to stop pussyfooting around and take the fight to them, treat them like you would any other political movement?

MURRAY WATT: Well, I think, to be fair, James, what we've been saying about One Nation over the last few months is what we've said previously about One Nation when they've surged in the polls, and that is they are simply not on the side of working people and all they ever put forward is division and chaos within the Australian public. And that's not what people are looking for.

We absolutely understand as a government that many people are doing it tough right now, and that's why our focus so much is on relieving those cost of living pressures. This Wednesday, 1 July, we're going to be having another round of tax cuts for every Australian taxpayer. Minimum and award wages will be rising, we're extending paid parental leave to six months.

All of these things One Nation and the Coalition have voted against to make things harder. So we've had a strong focus, as long as One Nation have been in politics in demonstrating that as much as they might say they're standing up for battlers in the Australian community, they always vote with the Liberals to oppose wage rises, to oppose cheaper medicines, to oppose every piece of cost of living relief that we provide.

And that is not the way to help working people right now. JAMES GLENDAY: I just want to take you to your portfolio. In New South Wales, the Premier Chris Minns announced some shark mitigation measures yesterday, and he appeared to leave open the door to culling bull sharks if their populations are too high in rivers.

As the Environment Minister, do you think this is a good idea? MURRAY WATT: Well certainly I saw Premier Minns’ announcement yesterday, James, and there was a very heavy emphasis on increasing surveillance at beaches through drones. That's obviously something that we support.

I'm sure that the Premier will make sure that any changes that he makes comply with state and federal environmental laws. I think the reality is that we do owe the public the right to be safe when they're swimming in our waterways, swimming at our beaches. And I'm confident, as I say, that the Premier would make sure that any actions taken would be done on an environmentally sustainable basis.

JAMES GLENDAY: You're from South East Queensland, this has been a debate for a long time now. Are bull shark populations too high in Australia? MURRAY WATT: Look, I think there are some parts of the country where they are at worrying levels.

I live right near the Brisbane River and there's a reason that people don't swim in the Brisbane River, and it's because of bull sharks more than anything. I mean, question how fun it would be to swim in the river at the best of times. JAMES GLENDAY: Might be a few reasons, yeah.

MURRAY WATT: There might be, but bull sharks is one of them. But look, these things are always a balance between public safety and preserving the environment. Of course, if we're talking about a particular type of shark that is a threatened species, there are going to be higher regulations that apply compared to other shark species that are in more plentiful supply.

JAMES GLENDAY: Just on another issue, authorities in Western Australia and South Australia are continuing to monitor for bird flu cases. Are we likely, do you think, to have already seen the transmission of bird flu in Australia? Or is this a case where we've got birds from the Antarctic region simply being blown here or flying here and then being tested?

MURRAY WATT: Yeah, well, James, based on what we know so far, which is that there have been only four confirmed cases of this strain of bird flu in Australia and all have involved migratory birds, there's no evidence at this point in time that there has been any transmission from those migratory birds to the broader Australian wildlife population. That's obviously a good thing.

That's obviously something that we don't want to see happen. And that is one of the reasons that all governments have undertaken those kind of preparedness plans over the last couple of years. So, I wouldn't want to predict exactly what's going to happen from here.

It is possible that we will see more cases over the next few days or weeks. But what I can say to people is that we are prepared. And as I've said, I think, before in your program, James, we do want people to avoid contact with sick or dead birds.

We want them to record and report any sightings that they come across so that we can ensure that testing is done. JAMES GLENDAY: Just before I let you go, something you have been asked about a lot really since the Budget, including at least once on this program, clearance rates. Again, there's more figures out today showing that they are dropping in Sydney and Melbourne.

I think in your home state around Brisbane, they're down below 40 per cent and might even be lower once the final figures are all calculated. How much of this do you think is to do with the Budget, and is it actually a good thing to see clearance rates this low? MURRAY WATT: Well, there's obviously a range of factors that contribute towards the housing market, James.

Obviously, interest rates have gone up in recent months, and that's likely to have had some effect. But it is quite possible that the changes that we've made to the tax system have had an impact as well. We've said since we introduced and announced those tax changes that we did want to take a bit of the heat out of the housing market.

The Treasury modelling shows that house prices are still likely to grow, but at a more sustainable rate compared to what we've seen in recent years. We do want to see more first-home buyers be able to enter the market, and it appears that is happening. And I think most home buyers would be happy about that if they can get into the market for the first time.

JAMES GLENDAY: Murray Watt, thanks for joining our show. MURRAY WATT: Thanks, James. We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of country throughout Australia and recognise their continuing connection to land, waters and culture.

We pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.