Senator the Hon Katy Gallagher

SALLY SARA, HOST: As Mel’s been saying, the 48^th Parliament formally opens today for the first sitting since Labor's resounding victory at the election, but the Prime Minister is urging his colleagues not to be complacent. Katy Gallagher is the Minister for Finance and Manager of Government Business in the Senate and joins me in our Parliament House studio ahead of a very busy day. Minister, welcome back to Radio National Breakfast.

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

SARA: Let's look at developing news overnight. Firstly, Australia has joined more than 20 countries calling for an end to the war in Gaza and condemning the humanitarian crisis in the strip. What is it about the situation that has prompted the government to take this stance now?

GALLAGHER: Thanks, Sally. Well, I think people will know that we have consistently been calling for a cease fire. We have routinely been standing with international partners to call for an end to the conflict in the Middle East. This continues that approach with like-minded countries, and I think most Australians, when I talk to them, want to see an end to the conflict in the Middle East. They want hostages released and returned to their families, but they also want aid to be able to get through to the Palestinian people. And they want to see, I think, the killing of innocent people stop.

SARA: What does the government think about the way Israel is dealing with the issue of aid and the humanitarian situation?

GALLAGHER: Well, we think that, really, humanitarian law would say that aid should be provided and people should be able to access that aid. And we are concerned with, particularly in recent times, of people dying while they're waiting to receive aid and also some of the restrictions on aid getting through. So this co-signing this letter with 26 other countries, you know, outlines that, and again, reaffirms our support for a ceasefire, for the return of hostages, but for the conflict to end. And ask that, you know, all in the international community lean into delivering that outcome.

SARA: Does the government believe that Israel's response, when the humanitarian situation, is within the bounds of international law right now?

GALLAGHER: Well, I think our position has been – and it's articulated in that letter, I'll leave it for others to comment on that, it's not my portfolio area – but I think our position is very clear in the letter that we co-signed overnight. That we want to see the conflict end. We want an immediate ceasefire. We want to stop seeing innocent people killed. We want to see aid getting through, and we want to see hostages returned to their families, who are also suffering and have been suffering horribly through, you know, since the events of October 7.

SARA: Does the government believe that genocide is now unfolding in Gaza?

GALLAGHER: Well, again, our position is that we want to see, you know, seeing innocent lives that are being lost stop. We want the conflict to end. We want aid to get through. We want the international effort to be on ending this conflict. And when I talk to Australian people, that is what they're concerned about. They're concerned about the immediate situation in the Middle East, and they want that to change.

SARA: Let's return to the business of the day in Canberra. You’re Manager of Government Business in the Senate. The Prime Minister says this is a term for the government of getting things done. How will you approach dealing with the Opposition and the crossbench in this term? Are you going to change tact at all?

GALLAGHER: Well, in the Senate where I live and work, it remains a minority chamber. So, in terms of the House and getting the agenda through there, obviously it's a majority Parliament, or a majority chamber. In the Senate, that's different. And so we work across the Parliament to get our agenda through. We were incredibly successful last term in getting the majority of our legislation through, but it requires consultation and engagement, both with the Opposition and with the Greens and with the crossbench.

SARA: Are you confident of a constructive approach from the Greens?

GALLAGHER: Look, I hope so. You know, I hope for a constructive engagement from everyone in the in the Senate. I think we've all just been through an election. We've got a very strong mandate to get through our agenda. And I hope that the Opposition – it was really the Opposition that were the most unconstructive in the last term, where they basically said no to pretty much routine legislation. And I would hope that that's changed. Because, you know, there are two reasonably easy pathways through the Senate for us, or easier pathways. One includes engaging with the Opposition, and the other includes engaging with the Greens. Of course, we'll continue to engage with the crossbench, but hopefully the Coalition will have understood the message from the Australian people, and perhaps take a different approach this term.

SARA: On the proposed super tax changes, what update can you give us on negotiations with the Greens in the Senate on that issue?

GALLAGHER: Look, I don't have an update beyond what the Treasurer has said publicly. I think the pathway through on that Bill is engagement with the Greens. The Opposition have made it pretty clear, or they did in the last term, that they weren't interested in that Bill. We think it's sensible and modest changes to superannuation. So we'll continue to engage with the Greens on that.

SARA: Ahead of the productivity roundtable, multiple unions, including the AMWU and the Nursing and Midwifery Federation want a four-day working week on the agenda. Is this something the Federal Government is keen to consider?

GALLAGHER: Well, I think we're keen to have that Roundtable as a place where people can bring ideas to. I think the Treasurer spoke about this when he announced the Roundtable of not getting into the rule in-rule out game, that I think has been a feature of some discussions around productivity and reform. So look, it's not on our agenda. It's not something we're working on. But I don't, certainly don't discount the right of the union movement to raise issues that are important for their members, just as the business community will be raising issues and ideas on behalf of their members that they think are important too.

SARA: Mark Latham's portrait is still hanging in the caucus room, the party room, but with some language now attached to that portrait. What does he represent for Labor now, do you think?

GALLAGHER: Well, I think a couple of things. I was involved in some of the discussions, obviously, over the last week. I think people, you know, there's a view that we can't erase our history, that he was leader of our party for two years, and therefore, you know, there can be no change to that. So, it's more about acknowledging, I think, a type of leadership that the party doesn't want to return to. So it does, you know, sit there as I guess a message, part of our history. But it also allows us to update that and reflect on the fact that the way, you know, behaviour and conduct matters and where it doesn't align with the modern Labor Party, the values of the modern Labor Party, we're going to make a statement to that effect. So it will be in that photo, the portrait will have a form of words that caucus has endorsed, that basically says that.

SARA: Senator Katy Gallagher, a big day ahead for you and many others today. Thank you for joining me this morning in our studio.

GALLAGHER: Thanks for having me.