JIM CHALMERS MP
SHADOW TREASURER
MEMBER FOR RANKIN
 
 

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
RADIO INTERVIEW
2ST BREAKFAST
THURSDAY, 25 FEBRUARY 2021
 
SUBJECT: Coalition’s cuts to JobKeeper risk 4,559 workers and 1,481 businesses in the Shoalhaven, Eurobodalla and other areas of Gilmore.  

GLENN ‘STOLZY’ STOLZENHEIN, HOST: March 28 looms and it's the day that many people have circled on their calendar, that's for sure. It is the date that sees the end of JobKeeper, as it is at the moment. Now, I have the Shadow Treasurer, Jim Chalmers, on the line to discuss it with us. Good morning, Jim. How you going?
 
JIM CHALMERS, SHADOW TREASURER: Good, Stolzy, how’s your Thursday morning?
 
‘STOLZY’: It's great. And thank you for joining us this morning, I'm sure you've got a thing or two to do. But we've got some alarming figures - or some big figures - that everyone really needs to prepare themselves for, as we head towards the end of next month?
 
CHALMERS: Yes, Stolzy, it’s a time of a lot of uncertainty and anxiety for the 1,481 businesses in the Shoalhaven, Eurobodalla and South Coast area, and the 4,559 workers that they employ. They're on JobKeeper at the moment. Scott Morrison and Josh Frydenberg are going to cut that payment next month. For a lot of people there, who've gone through first the fires, and then COVID and the impact that that's had, particularly on areas of the local economy like tourism, and travel agents, and independent cinemas, that's going to be a really difficult time for those thousands of workers. 
 
So what we've said, with Fiona Phillips your local Member down there, who's been a very powerful advocate on this front, is there should be some kind of targeted support that recognises that while some other parts of the economy might be recovering, it's still difficult there and people still need some support. Because we don't want to see the combined impact of the fires and COVID mean that the local economy is so hollowed out, that when things do improve that local small businesses can't take advantage of that.
 
‘STOLZY’: Now, Jim it’s a case now, where I mean, it's just so hard to put an end date on something that doesn't have an end date, if you know what I mean? When we're going through the pandemic and people struggling to get back on their feet and a lot of businesses being propped up. I mean, I've seen friends who've lost their jobs, and I've watched this happen, everyone’s watched this happen, it’s been horrific. But the timing of it now, it's kind of like, we're closer to being there to recovering. Is there something more we can do? Can it be extended?
 
CHALMERS: I would’ve thought so, Stolzy. Nobody’s arguing that this payment is paid forever or that it’s, you know, a permanent feature of the budget. It is very expensive and nobody says it should be some kind of free-for-all that never ends. What we are saying to the government is to recognise that the payment should be responsive to what's actually happening in real communities, like yours, in local economies and to make the payment responsive to that. 
 
They picked this date at the end of March because they wanted everybody to believe that the whole place would be humming again. And what you know, from being engaged there in the local community, what Fiona Phillips tells me and Kristy McBain just to the south of you, is that things are still really tough for too many workers and too many small businesses in particular. And so if the government could recognise that and support people for a little bit longer, that would be a good thing. If they could support them in a targeted way, a responsible way, that would be even better.
 
‘STOLZY’: Yeah, I know, there’ll be many businesses at the moment who have that big March 28 day looming. And just going over the figures again, 1,481 businesses and almost 4,600 workers affected? That’s 4,600 families.
 
CHALMERS: Yeah, every small business and every worker has somebody relying on them. And we need to recognise that. And as I said before, the payment won't go on forever. But let's make sure that it's responsive to what's happening there in your part of the world. That's not too much to ask.
 
‘STOLZY’: Look, finding a perfect solution to a far from perfect situation like the pandemic, and the fires, and everything else, is always going to be hard. But gee, March 28 is going to be hard for many, that’s for sure, Jim.
 
CHALMERS: Yeah, absolutely.
 
‘STOLZY’: Thank you so much for your time Shadow Treasurer, Jim Chalmers, for coming on the show this morning.
 
CHALMERS: Really appreciate it, Stolzy, thanks for that.
 
ENDS