JIM CHALMERS MP
SHADOW TREASURER
MEMBER FOR RANKIN
E&OE TRANSCRIPT
RADIO INTERVIEW
ABC BRISBANE DRIVE
MONDAY, 7 JUNE 2021
SUBJECTS: ALP Queensland Conference; Federal election Queensland; National Reconstruction Fund; Rewiring the Nation; G7 Tax Announcement.
STEVE AUSTIN, HOST: Jim Chalmers is the Shadow Treasurer and Federal Member for Rankin, he joins me on a Monday to talk federal politics from the view of the Opposition benches. Jim Chalmers at the Labor State Conference you said you want to translate the support for Queensland Labor to the Federal level and Labor President John Battams did acknowledge the Labor Party has to fix it’s track record at federal elections. What do you think is the problem for the Labor Party here in Queensland which does well at the State level but poorly at the Federal level?
JIM CHALMERS, SHADOW TREASURER: I think John is right. We have underperformed here. Something I spend a lot of time reflecting on and trying to fix. The reality of federal politics in Queensland is that a lot of the national scare campaigns that our opponents have run bite harder here. Historically it's been difficult here. I think the last time we won a majority of seats in Queensland was 2007, when Kevin Rudd was the leader. Apart from that, and one of the other times was during the Hawke period where we won a majority seats, for a long time now, certainly for all of my lifetime it's been difficult for us here. What that means is that the state government has done a better job than we have connecting with people on issues around job security, wages, regional development, a lot of the issues that Anthony Albanese has been speaking a lot about, including at that conference on the weekend.
AUSTIN: Anthony Albanese, your leader spoke about mining on the weekend, pointing out that 12 per cent of Queensland's economy comes from coal and bauxite reserves. Does this mean that the ALP will be putting more emphasis on supporting coal mining and coal mining communities here in Queensland in the lead up to the federal election?
CHALMERS: We've always been supportive of the mining sector in Queensland and elsewhere. People have raised concerns with us over time that perhaps we haven't done as good a job of that as we could and I take that feedback to heart particularly as the senior Queensland Shadow Minister in our federal team. I spent an hour an hour today actually with the mining industry in a Zoom conference call with representatives of all of the big companies, including those operating in Queensland. So we are supportive of mine workers and mine communities. The best way that we can show our support is to have good policies for regional development, but also to be straight with people about how the industry is evolving. There is a role for mining for some time, there is a market, certainly for coal, both kinds of coal. But in terms of met coal, there's a role in terms of building some of the new sources of energy. So if the criticism of us is that we need to do a better job communicating that then I think that that's something that we take seriously and will try and do better at.
AUSTIN: Jeers erupted at your conference late yesterday, when the debate came up about the twin resolutions on the issue of fossil fuels and climate change. Why was that, Jim Chalmers? What were your party fellows jeering about when it comes to fossil fuel and climate change?
CHALMERS: I wasn't in the room for that part of it, Steve. So I'm not sure whether and where those jeers came from. Things usually get a bit out of hand by the second afternoon of conference, but I think it's fair -
AUSTIN: I can tell you the Australian Workers Union branch Secretary Steve Baker, asked party members from the Labor Environment Action Network "what they've got against jobs in in regional Queensland?" - That's pretty clear, isn't it?
CHALMERS: Well, again, I didn't hear that.
AUSTIN: I'm quoting what happened.
CHALMERS: Fair enough. I think it's been true for both major parties for some time that there's a range of views about the relative emphasis we place on some of the issues around mining and some of the issues around the environment. I think federally, certainly we are as one in recognising the important role of cleaner and cheaper energy into the future, and grabbing those opportunities without abandoning our mining communities.
AUSTIN: Would Federal Labor support a new coal mine opening up in Queensland if one was put forward?
CHALMERS: If there's a market for that coal and there's investors in that coal, and it passes the various environmental hurdles, most of those are at the state level, then we have no objection. If it's consistent with environmental standards, and it meets all the various commercial tests as well then we've said many times that we wouldn't stand in the way of that. There will be a market for coal for some time, for both kinds of coal. It's not our role necessarily to step in if a company clears all of those other hurdles, environmental and commercial, and with the local owners as well, traditional owners, then we wouldn't stand in the way.
AUSTIN: This is ABC Radio has been my guest, Jim Chalmers. Jim Chalmers is the ALP Shadow Treasury spokesperson. The ALP State Conference took place in Brisbane on the weekend. Federal Leader Anthony Albanese spoke, as did the Labor President in Queensland, John Battams. Let me ask you then, Anthony Albanese mentioned once again, the National Reconstruction Fund to diversify Australia's industrial base. What would that mean for Queensland? He said it would drive regional economic development, secure jobs and develop sovereign capability. What would that mean for Queensland specifically? Can you say Jim Chalmers?
CHALMERS: The National Reconstruction Fund is a way for the government to partner with business, to create jobs, diversify the economy and revitalise our regions in areas like advanced manufacturing, but not just advanced manufacturing. What that means for Queensland industries is that in new parts of the economy like hydrogen, which the state government's been speaking about, other opportunities for batteries and other kinds of advanced manufacturing, often what happens here is that there are good ideas and good opportunities, which just need a little bit of partnership from the government to get going. So it's not hard to imagine really right up and down Queensland, the kinds of businesses and opportunities that could benefit from the Reconstruction Fund. It's not about necessarily picking winners in the way that we used to understand it. It's about supporting ideas, which are obviously beneficial for local communities, and making sure that they can access the finance to build those kinds of opportunities.
AUSTIN: And is there a specific project or industry that would get up in Queensland under Federal Labor's National Reconstruction Fund idea?
CHALMERS: In terms of industry, the priority is advanced manufacturing, but not just that. In terms of specific projects, what would do so that it wasn't an LNP style slush fund, we'd have an independent board, like the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, and they will assess bids that come in. Really what they would do is to recognise that despite all the advantages we have in this country, we've got a problem with business investment. We've got a problem with business investment flowing into the right areas, a lot of SMEs can't access finance like they would want to to finance some of these opportunities, so the independent board would look at specific bids. But in terms of industry, advanced manufacturing, and the various flow ons from that would be the priority.
AUSTIN: Jim Chalmers is my guest. Anthony Albanese also mentioned establishing a Rewiring the Nation project to give Australia the power grid that the 21st century demands. Where is it currently lacking, Jim Chalmers?
CHALMERS: What we've got here Steve is a very concrete roadmap from AEMO, which is the energy market operator. They've come up with this thing called an ISP, which is the Integrated System Plan and it identifies all of the ways that the transmission network needs to be modernised. So it's got a list of projects already. What we're saying is we would make it easier for people who want to build parts of this transmission network to access cheaper finance so that we can get it going with all of the benefits that that has for jobs and local industry, and also transmitting some of these new sources of energy. So if you think about Queensland, in that ISP list that the energy market operator has come up with, there's the Gladstone Grid Reinforcement and there's the Central to Southern Queensland transmission project, which is all about the Fitzroy and Isaac Renewable Energy Zones. Right around the country, particularly in our network here on the East Coast, there are opportunities to fund some of those projects. So a lot of that work has been done in terms of identifying what would make a difference here to modernise the network. It's about funding those opportunities so the Rewiring the Nation Fund would be about partnering with business who wanted to get that work done.
AUSTIN: Finally, I'm intrigued to hear the news that members of the G7 countries have agreed on a sort of a tax arrangement of how to tax those big multinational companies like Apple, Google, Amazon, Facebook that avoid paying their proper amount of tax because they're not domiciled in any one location around the globe. How do you or how does Federal Labor see this G7 tax agreement announcement?
CHALMERS: We are very supportive Steve. I think the work that the G7 has done, but particularly the work of the Biden Administration and Secretary Yellen, as well as the work of the OECD, has been really important here. One of the big emerging challenges in the global economy, is how we get a more transparent and fair way of taxing multinationals, particularly those digital platforms that you just mentioned. It is tremendously unfair to countries where some of these companies make their profits to not to get some more benefit in the tax system. So I think this work is really important. I think both sides of politics have welcomed it. There are issues associated with it that need to be worked through. But it's a really important step that's been taken by the G7, and we will be in opposition and in government very supportive of those efforts.
AUSTIN: I appreciate your time, Jim Chalmers, thank you once again.
CHALMERS: Appreciate your time Steve, thanks very much.
ENDS
