TV interview with Minister Butler, Today Show – 10 August 2026

Media event date: 10 August 2026 Date published: 10 August 2026 Media type: General public SYLVIA JEFFREYS, HOST: New polling published this morning reveals Labor's primary vote has slumped to 29 per cent, matching Gillard-era lows. The Prime Minister's approval rating has also plunged to minus 22, as the government prepares to face fights on several fronts as parliament resumes this week.

Joining us to discuss today's headlines is Health Minister Mark Butler and Chief Political Correspondent for the Sydney Morning Herald , Paul Sakal. Morning to you both. Minister, I'll start with you.

The weather in Canberra isn't the only thing that is bleak for you right now. It has been a long and dreary winter Labor. Are you worried about these numbers this morning?

MARK BUTLER, MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND AGEING, MINISTER FOR DISABILITY AND THE NDIS: I can confirm the weather here is incredibly bleak. It's cold, it's wet. I don't want to take airtime from Paul about the polls.

He's the commentator, he loves them. As politicians, we don't look at them much. They're coming up on a weekly basis and they will for the long 18 months until the next election.

We're focused on doing the job that we have. Health is a big part of that job, but there's a range of other things. Paul will focus on the numbers, I'm sure.

I think the last time he and I were on your program. There was another poll which had broadly the same numbers. There will be a discussion about that.

In the meantime, we've got 2 weeks of really important legislation that we want to get through the parliament. : Well, let me ask you this then. Polls aside, voters clearly want clarity on your immigration plans. Are they going to get that this week? : We've been working hard on that since we came to government.

The net migration numbers are down by almost a half. We've been much smarter, I think, than years before that about who's coming in. We've granted more than triple the number of construction visas so that we've got more tradies working on the housing projects we need to build.

I know in health we're fast-tracking doctors into the system … : Okay, but does Tony Burke have anything new for this week after being sent back to the drawing board? : It's been reported, we're looking at what else we can do to get those numbers down and be smarter about the balance that a country like Australia needs. There are gaps in our workforce, as I said, in construction, in health, in IT, but we also do need a system of balance here.While we've got those numbers down by almost a half, we had said that we want to get them down more to make sure we achieve that balance. : Okay, Paul, you've been writing about the internal divisions going on within the Cabinet over the last couple of weeks.

How do you see this immigration debate playing out this week? PAUL SAKKAL, CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, SYDNEY MORNING HERALD & THE AGE: Well, as you say, Sylvia, Tony Burke was sent back to the drawing board last week, which just created a sense of messiness around this policy formulation for government that was quite unhelpful for it. There's been months of work gone into this policy, but because of last week's little fracas, there's now going to be intense speculation on what's announced.

And you can bet your bottom dollar that whatever is announced, Pauline Hanson will say it's not enough and she'll go further because that's what you're able to do when you're a populist leader who doesn't need to govern. And this sense that Mark has just touched on, that Australia needs to get, quote, smarter about who comes in, is in some ways a tacit acknowledgement that the system working perfectly.

And this broader sense that the migration system is potentially a bit out of control, that the economy is not moving quickly, that the weather's very cold, is feeding into this general dissatisfaction with how the place is running which is leading One Nation's vote to remain very sticky because there's not an election in sight and people aren't having to actually make a choice on who to vote for. : All right let's move along.

The Daily Telegraph has confirmed this morning that multiple unmanned aircraft systems, so drones, were recorded flying in restricted airspace above in restricted airspace above the Williamstown base near Newcastle in July. Mark, a barrage of drones breached Australia's top fighter jet base a month ago. Why are we only learning about this now? : I’ve seen those reports.

Obviously, drones in the vicinity of any airport, whether it's a civilian or military airport, or in this case a combination of the two just outside Newcastle, is deeply concerning. It's obviously a safety risk to planes in the area, but given the Defence installations there, also a security risk. So Defence is cooperating with New South Wales, the New South Wales Police, in an investigation into what happened here.

We’re confident there was no security breach in the relevant sense but obviously drones flying around airports whether it's civilian or military or both is a very serious concern that we're taking with the deeper seriousness. : Does Defence know who was operating them yet? : I'm not going to comment on that. There's an investigation going on and an investigation going on and Defence is cooperating with New South Wales Police.

I'm sure they'll have more to say about that in due course. : Paul, personnel were told to close the blinds to protect sensitive information. It seems pretty loose for a significant Defence hub. : Yeah, it doesn't seem ideal, and there is now a little bit of a track record of pretty slow disclosure from Defence about serious, potential serious national security incidents.

We obviously don't know the detail here, so I don't want to speculate, but it has been reported that about 70 per cent of drones used in Western nations like Australia are produced by a Chinese firm called DJI. In 2023, I believe the Home Affairs Department banned the use of those machines because of the prospect of Australia being spied on. So I'm not suggesting that this is definitely the case here, but there are serious worries about how drones can be used. : Alright, we are out of time unfortunately.

We appreciate you both joining us. Stay warm there this week in Canberra. Thank you.

The Hon Mark Butler MP About the department