JIM CHALMERS MP
SHADOW TREASURER
MEMBER FOR RANKIN
E&OE TRANSCRIPT
RADIO INTERVIEW
101FM
WEDNESDAY, 8 DECEMBER 2021
SUBJECTS: Labor’s Electric Car Discount; Manufacturing; Labor’s Powering Australia plan; The Ashes.
IAN ‘BLUEY’ GEORGE, HOST: Welcome, Jim Chalmers.
JIM CHALMERS, SHADOW TREASURER: Hi Bluey, thanks for having me on. How are you?
BLUEY: I'm really good but you've had a heck of a trip. You've been down in Canberra, now you're back, then you're down, then you're back, and you're in quarantine at the moment.
CHALMERS: I'm in quarantine with my three little maniacs Bluey, it's not the not the worst outcome. I'm doing a lot of work on Zoom and by the phone but I get to hang out with those three little ones so it's not all bad.
BLUEY: That sounds alright.
CHALMERS: They might make a cameo at some point. It wouldn't be unprecedented if they piped up at some point.
BLUEY: This is the hard yards this morning because I'm going to put you on the spot for a couple of things. First of all, because you're such an easy going sort of guy and you love coming on the radio with me, which is really beaut. This is called…
CHALMERS: I don't like the sound of this Bluey, this sounds very ominous.
BLUEY: So this is called "What would I do if?". You know where I'm going with this don't you?
CHALMERS: I was hoping you were going to ask me about the cricket Bluey, it's 4/30, the whole country is watching us destroy the Poms.
BLUEY: That happens, but you're deflecting! So what would I do if I was Treasurer? That's the question I'm going to be asking you. If you were Treasurer in the government today or in May next year, what would you do if someone comes and says to you we're going to spend a bit of money and we're going to put some charging outlets around Australia so that people can charge up electric cars? Would that be a good thing to do?
CHALMERS: Yes, for sure.
BLUEY: It would get people buying electric cars, wouldn't it?
CHALMERS: Partly that but also I reckon we can get the price of those electric cars down by cutting the taxes on them. People might know that those cars are all imported and they attract an import charge. What we’ve said is we would get rid of that to make an electric vehicle on average about $2,000 cheaper. We know a lot of people want to buy an EV, they want to get around Logan in an EV, but they can't afford it. We want to make it a bit cheaper and the best way to responsibly do that is to knock off the import fee on EVs.
BLUEY: That would also help with the elimination of some of the gases that are around - the climate problems that we have and all the noxious gases that get pumped into the atmosphere.
CHALMERS: That's true and we’ve also said if you get a company car - you're in a fleet - if you knock off the fringe benefits taxes that will be around $9,000 a year benefit there. So electric vehicles a big part of it. You asked me what I would do if I was the Treasurer. I think the most important thing we can do is get power prices down and that's by getting more renewables in the system. We've got a big policy we announced on Friday, which is about getting power prices down, more renewables in the system, more investment, more jobs, at the same time as we get our emissions down. So that's a pretty important thing we could do in the economy.
BLUEY: What would I do if I was the Treasurer and I had the opportunity of doing something about getting manufacturing happening in Australia? Now, we were in a situation where we're looking at bringing in EV cars from overseas. We threw away Ford, and Holden, and Mitsubishi, and Nissan years ago. And now we're in a situation where we don't make much in Australia anymore.
CHALMERS: That's true and we have to turn that around, Bluey. I think there's a couple of things we can there - even in the world of cars, and particularly electric vehicles. We've got an opportunity to be a big part of the solution on batteries. We should be manufacturing batteries. We've got all the pieces to do that here. We should be manufacturing hydrogen. The Queensland Premier has made a big investment in Gladstone in hydrogen so that we can manufacture the components for the hydrogen industry, which will go absolutely through the roof in the next few years. I totally agree, we've got to be a country that makes things. We've got a whole heap of policies actually about trying to turbocharge our manufacturing industries. We've also got this thing called the National Reconstruction Fund, which is about government and business working together to create some of the manufacturing opportunities and all the jobs and investments that come with it, so that we can diversify our economy and get back to making things more effectively. Because of the clean economy, and because of our resource base and a whole range of other reasons, we've got a lot going for us, but we need a government that's part of the solution here rather than part of the problem. And that's what we want to be.
BLUEY: Well, I think that was a pretty good exercise in hard yards this morning. I just think it's really good that you're prepared to answer those questions. Because you don't know where I'm coming from with it do you?
CHALMERS: You could sense the worry in my voice.
BLUEY: The interesting part about this whole thing with you coming on the radio is that a lot of people say, but you give him all the questions, you know you tell him what you're going to ask him. I can guarantee you folks, Jim is always prepared to come on the radio and call it how it is. And you’ve got to give Jim ten points out of ten for going the hard yards with Bluey, as he always does. I think it's really good that you're prepared to do that because there's some bloke from marketing down there in Canberra. He looked totally at ease in the race car on the weekend on the TV. I just think that we have such an opportunity here in Logan. We could start a whole new manufacturing business of electric motor vehicles here in Logan City. It's not it's not a hard question. It's not a hard one. But can you throw a few shekels at maybe starting up an EV business here in Logan Cy and creating lots and lots of jobs for locals?
CHALMERS: I think we've got a big chance there because you think about around Berrinba and Creastmead there's a good light industrial base there already. I want to tip my lid to the Council, the Mayor, the Deputy Mayor John Raven, and others. They're on to this. The State Government, Cameron Dick and all the ministers we have in our area, they're onto this. We do have some big industrial possibilities. Whether it's the components of EVs, whether it's other kinds of manufacturing. I think we are really well placed. The other thing that investors like about our part of the world is because we're right in the heart of all of those various arterial roads, they like the logistics chain, and so you'll see that a lot of those logistics businesses are going in around us - a lot of warehousing, as well as light industrial. I think that's a big opportunity for us. We're not always at the front of the queue when it comes to new jobs and new opportunities. We want to get up there - the Council, the State Government, myself, and others - we want to get up to the front of the queue when it comes to new jobs and opportunities. We've got the space for it. We've got the people for it. We're in the right place at the big arterial roads and supply chains and all the rest of it. So there's no reason why we can't do much better.
BLUEY: Jim Chalmers, always a pleasure having you on the program on a Wednesday morning. You have a great Christmas with your kids, and the kids are at home at the moment. They'll be having a whale of a time with dad at home for any length of time. What's the score at the moment?
CHALMERS: It was 4 for 30 when we got on the call. Now it's 4 for 38. Stark got a wicket with the first ball of the Ashes.
BLUEY: I haven't been watching because I've been here doing other things, you know paying the rent.
CHALMERS: Putting food on the table.
BLUEY: You have a great Christmas, Jim. And we look forward to talking to you in the New Year. I'm back sort of toward the end of January. When do you get back to Parliament?
CHALMERS: Towards the end of February I think but not for a while, lots of work in the community between now and then.
BLUEY: Can you come into the studio at the end of January or early February? Come in and we'll have a bit of a chat one on one and I'll set aside an hour that we can sort of do the hard yards and we'll get some punters from home if they'd like to send us in a question - which I won't vet - and that way you can do the hard yards with them too.
CHALMERS: Sounds good, Bluey. Can I say to you, to all your listeners, and to Lynn there in the office - I hope you have a really terrific Christmas. I love talking to you Bluey, as you know, and I look forward to coming back on in 2022.
BLUEY: That'd be great. You take care. Have a great Christmas yourself.
CHALMERS: You too, all the best.
ENDS
