KARL STEFANOVIC, HOST: Is Anika Wells there? Anika, are you there?

MINISTER FOR COMMUNICATIONS ANIKA WELLS: Present.

STEFANOVIC: Thank God for that. Look, a rate announcement may be going up, was what Richard was saying there. That is a disturbing announcement for Australian households. It is really looking like tough economic times are coming.

WELLS: Richard really left us all on a cliff-hanger there and then hit the hay. But I would point out that Richard was speculating that is not the advice that the Governor was giving in her press conference yesterday. And, of course, we would have all liked to see a fourth interest rate cut for the year. That would have brought us all a lot of joy heading into the festive season. And, regrettably, that wasn’t the case, as the Governor announced yesterday. But, nonetheless, inflation, whilst incredibly important, now has a three in front of it. had a six in front of it when we came to office. That’s really important work, and we’ll continue that work.

STEFANOVIC: It’s up, though, and it’s going up. Power is up also. Wages are on the way down. People are skipping meals, we learned yesterday, and the Reserve Bank is not happy. There does seem to be storm clouds gathering in relation to the economy.

WELLS: Well, as Richard said before he left us all, and, Karl, you and I took over the economic forecasting for the morning, which is not something I predicted for my morning. It is a tricky time in the economy, and I think that’s why you saw the federal election had such a focus on cost of living measures and which different political party had a better offering for families for relief in cost of living in a tricky economy. And while we’ve made great, great progress in the economy, and I credit Jim Chalmers, the Treasurer, for that, there’s still a lot of work to do. And some of those measures, like bulk billing, just came into effect across the weekend, 1 November. And all across Australia this week, there will be medical practices hanging out a sign saying, we are fully bulk billing. And measures like that will make a difference.

STEFANOVIC: Okay, you’ve got to stop spending, though, at some point.

WELLS: Well, look, Karl, you and I have spoken previously – I was the aged care minister. We brought in a $12.6 billion structural reform to the economy to try and make sure that we could deliver dignified aged care to people who need it most, whilst making sure that we did make structural changes to the economy so that we were taking responsible action. Those are big changes and those are a very proud reform that I was part of.

STEFANOVIC: Might need to be more. Okay, Australia’s landmark social media ban is being expanded this morning. This is back in your wheelhouse. The government announcing Reddit and Kick will soon be restricted for children. I can see these teenage boys rioting on their Gameboys with these Kick restrictions. Are you expecting any blowback?

WELLS: Look, I think that’s something that we want parents to be conscious of and to be having those discussions around the dinner table or driving to school at the moment that 10 December is coming. But also that if their teenage boys are giving them any grief about it, they can say, don’t blame me, it’s the law. Blame Minister Wells. Look, she’s on breakfast TV this morning saying, this is the law, you can’t be on there. But it’s also not on parents to do anything. The onus is on the platforms here. It is up to them to find these accounts and deactivate them ahead of 10 December.

STEFANOVIC: Okay, kids will work their way around it. Are you worried about that?

WELLS: I mean, there will be children today that purchase alcohol out there in Australia, despite the fact that it’s against the law. Kids will be kids. You and I have met them. You and I are raising them. But nonetheless, this is important cultural change. And just because some kids are going to get access to alcohol today doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have a law forbidding that. And that’s what this will do. This will be meaningful change. I really genuinely think it’s going to change a generation.

STEFANOVIC: I see you cracking down on streamers too, which is a good thing. Why aren’t Amazon and Disney included?

WELLS: We announced that the Minister for Arts will be bringing legislation to the House next week for the first time to require streamers to invest in Australian content. And that’s because we want Australians telling Australian stories. And some of our proudest content out there are Australians telling Australian stories, like some on your venerable network. And I know it’s important, I know that people have been wanting us to do this for a while, and I think Tony and I are proud to be able to deliver that reform and bring it to the House.

STEFANOVIC: They can’t get around it by just buying Aussie sport, can they?

WELLS: Different premise. I mean, that is Australians telling Australian stories, and as the Minister for Sport, you’ll never have me not cheering for more Australian sport, and particularly women’s sport, on our Australian networks. But this is about creative content, about stories, and I know that the Minister for Arts is looking forward to telling you more about it.

STEFANOVIC: All right. Doctor for economics, Anika Wells, appreciate your time.