19/02/2025 

SENATOR THE HON KATY GALLAGHER
MINISTER FINANCE
MINISTER FOR GOVERNMENT SERVICES
MINISTER FOR WOMEN
MINISTER FOR THE PUBLIC SERVICE
SENATOR FOR THE ACT

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
RADIO INTERVIEW
ABC NORTH QUEENSLAND
WEDNESDAY, 19 FEBRUARY 2025

SUBJECTS: Queensland floods; government assistance; UNICEF; the Budget; election timing.

MICHAEL CLARKE, HOST: The Minister for Finance and Government Services, Senator Katy Gallagher, is in Townsville today and is with us now. Senator, thank you so much for your time this morning.

SENATOR THE HON KATY GALLAGHER, MINISTER FOR FINANCE: Thanks very much for having me on, Michael.

CLARKE: In your opinion, has the level of government assistance been adequate for the communities that have been impacted in recent weeks?

GALLAGHER: Well, from the Commonwealth's point of view - and we have been working very closely with the Queensland Government - we've been responding to the emergency and making sure that services and supports were there as quickly as possible and also allowing for those disaster payments; so, the Disaster Recovery Allowance or the government Disaster Recovery Payment. And so, those have been flowing. I've been advised Services Australia has paid out close to 1000 for adults and 400 to $480 because the current payments are five years behind inflation, that's their argument.

GALLAGHER: Okay, rightio, thank you, I haven't seen the report, but again, we try and make sure that these payments are adequate for families who have gone through an emergency and we look at these in the context of the Budget and other pressures on the Budget. I mean, we just have to make sure that we've got the Budget in the proper shape to be able to increase payments where we can. We look at this with every Budget. We look at all of the payments and you know, social security investments that we make across the country to make sure that they are keeping pace with people's cost-of-living. But I'll have a look at that UNICEF report as well. We're right in the thick of putting a budget together right now. So good timing..

CLARKE: Well, that's good to talk about as well this morning, the Budget will be delivered, we won't be going to an election before the Budget, what are your thoughts or what have you heard?

GALLAGHER: Well, the Treasurer and I and the ERC have been meeting in the last two days. We've been locked in a room putting the Budget together. So, that's what our planning is. We've got that scheduled for the 25^th of March.

CLARKE: Alright, would you be disappointed if your boss, the Prime Minister, called the election before that Budget after all the hard work you've been doing on the Budget?

GALLAGHER: Well, I guess it's one of those decisions that the PM makes and makes on his own and that will be his decision entirely. My job is to make sure that we've got everything in place for a budget on the 25^th of March.

CLARKE: Does he make that decision on his own or does he consult with colleagues such as yourself and say, what do you think?

GALLAGHER: Well, I think really for him - there's a few decisions I think the PM makes on their own, and I think election timing - because it's such a highly sought-after piece of information - is one of those.

CLARKE: It certainly is a highly sought-after piece of information, you're quite correct. Good to talk to you this morning and thank you for talking to us from Townsville today.

GALLAGHER: Thanks very much, Michael