Barnaby Joyce has accused Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of disrespecting small business owners during a heated clash on Sunrise on Monday. The One Nation MP criticised Albanese over comments in which the Prime Minister described critics of the federal budget as “barely coherent noise”, arguing they reflected a lack of respect for Australian businesses already concerned about the government’s tax changes.
Joyce Condemns Prime Minister's Remarks
“When you hear a Prime Minister of Australia... talking about the issues of small businesses, barely coherent noise, that’s the respect that they get,” Joyce said. The latest criticism comes just days after Albanese faced backlash over comments made while playing a “shag, marry, date” game during a podcast interview. “He’s not having a good day with respect for other people,” Joyce added.
Plibersek Defends Government's Record
Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek rejected Joyce’s characterisation, insisting Albanese had not been referring to small business owners. Plibersek pointed to the government’s $3.8 billion package of business support, including making the $20,000 instant asset write-off permanent, loss carryback provisions and refundability for businesses. “It would be terrific if media organisations actually shared some of those with the small businesses that are going to benefit from them,” she said.
She said 92 per cent of businesses would be completely unaffected by the trust-related changes, while the remaining businesses would have more than a year to adjust. “We’ve fixed capital gains tax; we’ve put that beyond doubt now so that businesses still get all of the four exemptions that they previously had,” she said. “The vast majority of business will be unaffected by the changes but they will be impacted by the $3.8 billion of new investment to support them, including substantial tax cuts for people like sole traders.”
Heated Exchange Escalates
In a heated clash with Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek, Barnaby Joyce has accused the government of “hopeless economic” management. Joyce rejected that explanation, arguing the Prime Minister’s comments had been directed at the people most affected by the reforms. “What a disgraceful way to talk about the people who drive our economy. You ran out of money, and then you went for a massive tax grab, and you’re just telling riddles about exactly what you’re up to. You’re hopeless economic managers, and you’ve run out of money, and you’ve gone to small businesses who drive our economy, and after you’ve taken their money, you’ve said you’ve got to shut up because you’re barely coherent noise,” he said.
Plibersek repeatedly disputed that interpretation, saying Albanese’s remarks had been aimed at political opponents rather than business owners. “He was talking about the high-profile critics that are lined up with the Liberal Party and the National Party and One Nation who criticised the Labor budget,” she said.
Concessions Made After Backlash
The exchange became increasingly tense as the pair repeatedly spoke over each other. “You can’t just speak all the way through the interview Tanya,” Joyce said. “You can’t just make it up either,” Plibersek replied. The government has already made concessions following backlash from the business sector, lifting the turnover threshold for affected businesses from $2 million to $10 million after initial concerns were raised.
