Senator Nampijinpa Price talks with Trudy McIntosh, Sky News

2 July 2026

Subjects: Small Business; Capital Gains Tax Changes; Regulatory Burden; Cost of Living; Coalition Leadership; One Nation.

E&OE……………

TRUDY MCINTOSH:

It's certainly been a messy fallout for Labor trying to sell its budget not only to homeowners but also to businesses who are caught up. Joining me in the studio is the Shadow Minister for Small Business, Jacinta Nampijinpa Price. Great to see you in the studio. Lots of small business owners feel like they're under assault at the moment, don't they? The budget, increased taxes for them, increasing wage bills, energy costs. What are you hearing is the number one priority they want you to be able to fix if you were to win government?

SENATOR JACINTA NAMPIJINPA PRICE:

Oh, look, there's a number of things. Firstly, there is the cost of energy, which is impacting everybody. Everyday Australians, but particularly so for businesses, are impacted by the cost of energy. They'd love to see a reduction in the cost of energy. The cost of insurance is also impacting them. But red tape and regulatory compliance is a huge burden on businesses, and now the fact that they are sort of trying to navigate these new tax changes that the government has brought about, they're having to invest money in restructuring, in dealing with compliance, and it brings about uncertainty. So they're not particularly wanting to invest in employing more people, apprentices, you know, we're seeing a downturn in the number of apprenticeships as well. A lot of businesses — I have been speaking to small businesses who are saying — I'm considering actually taking my business overseas, you know, to places like Singapore, New Zealand, the Middle East, because they just feel like they're constantly being hit over and over again here. 

TRUDY MCINTOSH:

We saw last night at the Midwinter Ball, a mortgage broker, Joseph Daoud, he put up those ads, the billboards at the airport, the anti-aspiration tax. He's going to have a hit of tennis with the Prime Minister. He says he hopes that Anthony Albanese has an open mind to changing that. Do you think that's a realistic prospect? 

SENATOR JACINTA NAMPIJINPA PRICE:

Well, I think everyone's having a go right now. We're seeing people like himself. I mean, literally, I'm seeing billboards on trucks all over the place now. And I'm saying that small businesses are investing in these billboards in the hope that this Prime Minister and the Treasurer will actually sit up and take notice. I mean, when you've got a Treasurer who can't even tell us how many small businesses are going to have their tax increased, and all he can say is, "wow, it depends". That does not provide any comfort to small businesses.  

TRUDY MCINTOSH:

And yet in this environment where the budget hasn't gone down well with everyone, you'd expect that the Coalition would be the beneficiary of that in the polls. Instead, a lot of it's gone to One Nation, and the Coalition went backwards in the latest poll this week. Why do you think that Angus Taylor and the Coalition isn't cutting through? 

SENATOR JACINTA NAMPIJINPA PRICE:

Look, I think for us as the Coalition, we really have to do a hell of a lot of work to demonstrate to the Australian people, to get back that trust, for them to understand that we do have a plan for Australians going forward. But we're all admitting, we're all understanding that a lot of damage has been done. It takes a split second to damage trust. 

TRUDY MCINTOSH:

 And was that because of the divorce in the Coalition, is that the primary reason? 

SENATOR JACINTA NAMPIJINPA PRICE:

Yeah, there's that. I think at the last election we've also looked at the fact that we weren't putting our policies on the table soon enough for Australians to understand the plan that we did have going forward. But certainly there was the division. I think for me personally, I feel very much in a good place under Angus's leadership with the team that we do have. I know that we've got a suite of measures that we have already put out there. The fact that we want to end bracket creep, the fact that we want to scrap net zero and it is about lowering the cost of energy and investing in all our energy resources in this country. We've got a raft of measures that I know that we just need to explain to the Australian people. There's more coming. Help is on its way. Have confidence in us. 

TRUDY MCINTOSH:

When Andrew Hastie, your colleague, said earlier in the week, to support us, he's declaring war on One Nation, that he's not going to die wondering in this fight with Pauline Hanson's party. Should you and others be more forceful in the fight against One Nation? 

SENATOR JACINTA NAMPIJINPA PRICE:

I don't think the fight is about One Nation. I think the fight is about this terrible Labor government and ultimately the policies that we're seeing destroying — I mean, for me, obviously, I'm at the forefront — when it comes to small business. And this is where we need to continue to highlight that this government is doing a terrible job for Australians and small businesses who are doing it really bloody tough, but we have measures to support them, like the $50,000 instant asset write-off that we want to make permanent for small business. These are the sorts of things that we need to continue to tell the Australian people we've got a plan. 

TRUDY MCINTOSH:

You were one of the stars of the No campaign for the Voice to Parliament. I'm sure a lot of One Nation voters would personally like you, they would have supported what you did in the Voice campaign. Do you need to be out there more trying to convince those people personally that the Coalition hasn't lost its way? 

SENATOR JACINTA NAMPIJINPA PRICE:

I think, well, we all need to be doing that ultimately, and absolutely. The best part of my job is the opportunity to be able to meet face to face with Australians, which obviously I did do a lot of during the No campaign and which I do plan to do going forward before the next election, because I think it's those touch points that matter the absolute most. 

TRUDY MCINTOSH: 

Do you think Angus Taylor will make it all the way to the election or would you think Andrew Hastie would be a better leader? 

SENATOR JACINTA NAMPIJINPA PRICE:

Look, I absolutely support our leader, Angus Taylor. I think he's doing a great job. He's a very bloody intelligent bloke. When people do get to meet him face to face, I think they will understand the fact that he is about this country's future. He cares passionately about our country. I know that from personally sitting around the dining table with him and his family and me and my family with him as well. And I think Australians just need to see, he needs to get out and see Australians face to face so they realise that for themselves. 

TRUDY MCINTOSH:

What's your assessment of Pauline Hanson's version of politics? 

SENATOR JACINTA NAMPIJINPA PRICE:

Look, I think, you know, it's her party and I think I appreciate the fact that I'm part of a democratic party where we know that it's a democratic process to elect our leader in our party. I suppose for Pauline's politics, it's about handing down as a family dynasty, but I do believe that we have roles in that we need to call out this terrible Labor government and that is up to both our sides to be able to do that. 

TRUDY MCINTOSH:

Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, great to see you. Thanks for coming in.

 

[ENDS]