TRANSCRIPT
SKY NEWS AFTERNOON AGENDA WITH TOM CONNELL
8 December 2025
Topics: Anika Wells’ travel expenses, aged care inquiry, Labor short-changing older Australians on home care, aged care workforce, energy rebates
E&OE…………………………………
TOM CONNELL: All right, well let's go to a story that's been bubbling along for the past a couple of weeks now - expenses claimed by Anika Wells. More stories today, in particular detailing family reunion flights, including those for her husband and children to see the Grand Final and also cricket. Joining me now is Coalition front bencher Anne Ruston. We'll talk about your portfolio in a moment, but what's been your reaction to this and what do you think should happen from here?
ANNE RUSTON: Well, I think it's a very sensible request of the Minister that she offers herself up for an independent inquiry into her expenses because if, as she says, there's nothing to see here, then she probably will do well to get it cleared up by having an independent investigation to make sure that that is actually the case. But I think one of the most important things is that it's not just the fact that the Minister has spent an incredible amount of money on various trips, but it's been at a time when her current portfolio's been in crisis and, quite frankly, her previous portfolio, which is one that I shadow, is in crisis at the moment. And I think it just goes to the priorities of this government and this minister that they'd prioritise travelling for a seven minute speech in the UN over being back here and making sure that Australians were safe in her communications portfolio or that older Australians were getting the care they'd been assessed as needing, which was part of the reforms that she claims to have been so involved in.
TOM CONNELL: Right, but by suggesting an independent inquiry of some form, if that happens then you would be happy with whatever outcome that suggests, would you, in terms of her future position?
ANNE RUSTON: Well, obviously, if you ask for an independent inquiry you've got to accept the findings of the independent umpire. But, quite frankly, these are matters for the Minister and the Albanese Labor Government to explain to Australians. You know, why is it that we have got this all over the front page of all of our media today when the Minister really should be actually out there doing her job? So, it's something for the Government to explain, it's something for the Minister to explain. But I think the most important thing is that the Minister should be doing her job and that's being the Communications Minister and focusing on the things that matter in her portfolio.
TOM CONNELL: The dominant purpose test, is that just too much of a grey area or do you think that's working well?
ANNE RUSTON: Well, obviously it appears as if the Minister is saying that everything has happened within the rules. But we all have to be very careful, and that goes for every single one of us in the Parliament, to make sure that when we are using taxpayers' money to do things that we are fulfilling our duties as our responsibility, whether we're a minister, a shadow minister or a backbench member of the Parliament.
TOM CONNELL: Onto your portfolio area, not a lot of wins for the Coalition lately, but this aged care inquiry has been successful. There's always some point scoring I'd suggest in inquiries. What do you genuinely want to know out of this that you don't know already?
ANNE RUSTON: Well, every time we put the Government under scrutiny, as we did last week in estimates, we find out that they've hidden something. Like when we agreed and passed the Aged Care Amendment Bill a few months ago, we were none the wiser that the Government was going to sneak in after the Bill had been passed a rule that basically says that they could provide older Australians with 60% of the packages that they'd been assessed as needing. I mean, we had no idea that that was even being considered at the time, and now we find that 93% of packages being released by the Government right now are actually only being released at 60% of their value, or 60% of the care that those people have been assessed as needing. We need to get in here and actually properly scrutinise this government every step of the way, because it seems that the only time we get information out of them is when we do this kind of forensic approach that we do either through scrutiny in the Parliament when there's a bill before the Parliament or through an inquiry. It really is quite tragic, the level or the lack of transparency and the secrecy that this government's prepared to go to protect, quite frankly, their budget.
TOM CONNELL: One of the things, the hard things though to achieve - everyone says it's a sensible measure to have aged care in home, that it's cheaper, it's a better outcome for individuals as well. But it's workers that's the biggest struggle. When you're sitting around Shadow Cabinet, because right now the Liberal Party and the Coalition are debating immigration, are you a voice saying, hang on, we can't be too savage here, we need workers from overseas?
ANNE RUSTON: Well, I think it's been quite clear for a very long time the reliance that we have in Australia on overseas workers when it comes to the care sector. But we also need to remember when it comes to home care, the sector itself told us that they were ready to gear up for these new home care packages when they came online. The Government was really quick to blame the sector and say, oh no, we can't possibly do this because the sector's not ready. The sector has been telling us all year that they're ready to deliver these services. But yes, there are a number - there is quite a heavy reliance in Australia, in the care sector, on overseas-trained workforce.
TOM CONNELL: The rebate's gone. Energy rebate winding up at the end of the year. Right call by Labor?
ANNE RUSTON: Well, I just find it quite ironic that the Government can claim some sort of victory in terms of providing this rebate in the first place when actually it was their failed energy policy that's pushed up the cost of energy to such an extent that households were suffering so badly that they actually had to come in and provide this top-up support. What this government should be focusing on is getting energy prices down so that Australian families, Australian businesses can actually – you know, Australian families can afford to pay their bills and Australian businesses can keep operating in this country. So I'd say to the Government, your first job is to get energy prices down because that's what's actually impacting Australian families.
TOM CONNELL: But this spend couldn't just continue, is that fair enough?
ANNE RUSTON: Well, the reality is that we need to make sure that we have got affordable energy prices in Australia, because basically all they're doing is taxing Australians to then turn around and give them back the money that they've taxed them. So, I would say that doesn't make any sense in the longer term. What you've got to do is get down energy prices so that there's no need for this, so that Australians can afford to pay their energy bills instead of finding themselves in a situation at the moment where every Australian family just about is struggling with the cost of living at the moment and every Australian business is struggling with the cost of doing business, and much of that can be laid blame to the high price of energy in this country.
TOM CONNELL: Anne Ruston, appreciate your time today. Thank you.
ANNE RUSTON: Thanks, Tom.
ENDS
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