Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy is addressing criticism of the Australian Tax Office's decision to end credit card payments for tax bills. He states that various ministers will reinforce views with the ATO regarding its transition plan and engagement with the business community, emphasizing that only 5% of small businesses and 2% of individuals use credit cards for tax payments. Meanwhile, Deputy Liberal Leader Jane Hume argues that the government could reverse the decision easily, while Labor's Penny Wong asserts that due to the ATO’s independence, the government cannot direct it to change its policy.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-08,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it -0.40, but all 3 of its quote(s) are attributed speech - words the article quotes from someone, not the article's own narration, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 66744: attributed speech only · logged 2026-10-08
Labor minister moves to smooth over government response to ATO payment change
Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy has tried to smooth over the federal government's response to the ATO's decision to end credit card payments.
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Conroy → move → payments
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Watt says ministers will be reinforcing views with ATO on payment changes
Murray Watt says the "various ministers" will be making their expectations clear to the tax office about its decision to ban credit card payments.
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expectations → choose → payments
Business groups have voiced outrage at the Australian Tax Office's (ATO) decision to end credit card payments for the payment of tax bills.
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groups → voice → bills
Yesterday, the housing minister and assistant science minister gave differing views on Labor's position about the payment ban.
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minister → give → ban
Speaking to Channel Seven, the environment minister says government ministers will be reinforcing their views about the ATO's decision.
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ministers → speak → decision
"We need to keep it in perspective, that when it comes to payments to the ATO, it's only a very small number of taxpayers who pay their tax payments by credit card.
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who → need → card
It's about 5 per cent for small businesses and about 2 per cent for individuals," Watt says.
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Watt → say → individuals
"We were very clear with the ATO when they first proposed this, that they needed to have a transition plan, that they needed to work properly with the business community.
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they → propose → community
And I'm sure that those expectations will be reinforced.
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expectations → reinforce → ?
"
Joining the environment minister on the political panel today is Deputy Liberal Leader Jane Hume who says the government can change the decision "with the stroke of a pen".
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government → join → pen
"You can't blame the ATO.
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You → blame → ATO
You can do this," Hume says.
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Hume → do → this
Wong says govt can't intervene and force ATO to reverse end to credit card payments
Penny Wong says the government doesn't have the power to direct the tax office to reverse its decision to stop accepting credit card payments.
The Coalition has called on Labor to direct the department to reverse the change so businesses can use credit cards to make tax payments.
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businesses → say → payments
The Australian Taxation Office made the decision to stop accepting credit card payments after the Reserve Bank ended surcharges.
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Bank → make → surcharges
But speaking to Channel Nine, Wong says the government can't intervene because the ATO is independent.
"
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ATO → speak → Channel
In terms of the ATO, I'd make two points.
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I → make → points
Governments can't direct tax office, the tax office to implement tax in a certain way," Wong says.
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Wong → direct → way
"What we can do is say to them, you should be consulting with small business, and we would really encourage the ATO to engage with small business about this.
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we → say → this
I know that only a small proportion of small businesses were using credit cards for this, but obviously it is a change."
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it → know → this
Key Event
Conroy says Labor ministers have been 'appropriately urging' ATO to consult business
Pat Conroy has moved to smooth over the response from Labor ministers about the Australian Tax Office's (ATO) decision to stop accepting credit card payments.
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Conroy → say → payments
The ATO has maintained its position to stop accepting credit card payments for tax bills from December 1, after the Reserve Bank banned credit card surcharges from the start of this month.
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Bank → maintain → month
Yesterday, Clare O'Neil told Channel Nine that Labor had "real concerns" about the ATO's decision to end credit card payments.
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Labor → tell → payments
"Small businesses across the country are really struggling to manage their cash flow," she said yesterday.
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she → struggle → flow
But soon after, Assistant Minister Andrew Charlton told ABC Radio Labor supported the ATO's decision to ban credit card tax payments.
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Labor → tell → payments
The defence industry minister has defended the end of credit card surcharges on Channel Nine this morning, but says it's up to the ATO to work with businesses to find a solution.
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it → defend → solution
"What Labor ministers have been doing is appropriately urging the ATO to consult with small businesses.
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doing → do → businesses
That's what the broader decision is about," Conroy says.
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Conroy → say → what
"But the broader point is there, consumers want transparency.
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consumers → want → transparency
When I go to a shop, the price should be the same whether I pay with cash or card, so that people know that going in.
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people → go → that
And that's what the decision from the Reserve Bank is all about."
Shadow Treasurer Tim Wilson says there's "open warfare" in the government over the ATO's decision.
"
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Wilson → say → decision
I guess the question is who is actually in charge at the moment.
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who → guess → moment
The prime minister in the Pacific, we've got the treasurer off in Japan," he says.
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he → get → Japan
It's great to have you join us here for the final day of the working week (YAYYYY!)
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you → have → week
I'm Josh Boscaini joining you live from Parliament House in Canberra, here and ready to bring you all of today's federal politics news.
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I → join → news
I'm not too sure what today will bring us but let's get into the thick of things and see what it brings us!
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it → bring → us
The Aporia
