JIM CHALMERS MP
SHADOW TREASURER
MEMBER FOR RANKIN
E&OE TRANSCRIPT
TELEVISION INTERVIEW
ABC NEWS
SUNDAY, 1 MAY 2022
SUBJECTS: Labor’s Campaign Launch in Perth; Scott Morrison’s cost of living crisis; Labor’s Economic Plan; Scott Morrison always wants to take credit but never wants to take responsibility.
JANE NORMAN, HOST: Jim Chalmers, back in 2019 Labor took a big policy of addressing housing affordability by cutting the capital gains tax discount and negative gearing. How is your policy now going to better that?
JIM CHALMERS, SHADOW TREASURER: We've made it very clear we're not going down that path, we've found a better way to deal with these pressures in the housing market. House prices went up something like 25% last year, fewer and fewer people on lower and moderate incomes are able to get a toehold in the housing market. Our plan today, that we're announcing at this launch here in Perth, is all about smaller deposits, smaller mortgages, and smaller repayments, getting more people into the market.
NORMAN: You previously said though you can't address housing affordability without addressing those taxes. Do you still believe that's the case?
CHALMERS: No, that's not my view. My view is that this is the best way, combined with our other housing policies - social housing, affordable housing, and some of the other steps that we're taking - this is the best way to deal with the housing part of Scott Morrison's costs of living crisis.
NORMAN: Labor is clearly tapping into the concerns about cost of living here, but it is a pretty modest proposal, only 10,000 people a year will benefit from it. The Coalition says its first homebuyers scheme helps about 160,000 Australians last year.
CHALMERS: We've been supportive of the steps that the Government's taken, this is in addition to what the Government is proposing. We've got to be responsible, we would be inheriting a Budget which is heaving with a trillion dollars in debt and not enough to show for it. So we'll be responsible. We think this will make a meaningful difference to people who are trying to get into the housing market. This costs of living crisis has many aspects, housing is one of them, power bills, child care of course, access to affordable health care - we've got policies in each of those areas and that really is the choice here. What Anthony Albanese will be talking about today is a better future under Labor and Anthony Albanese, where we try and do something about Scott Morrison's costs of living crisis, versus another three years of dysfunction and drift and families falling further and further behind.
NORMAN: The Coalition's announced a policy to make medicines cheaper by about $10 per script. Labor has indicated it might be working on something in that area. Can we expect an announcement regarding that today?
CHALMERS: You can, but I'll leave it to Anthony to make that announcement.
NORMAN: Are you bettering the Coalition?
CHALMERS: Oh, you have to wait and see. It would be career limiting in the extreme for me to pre-empt Anthony's announcement. We've made it clear for some time that we think that there is something responsible we can do here to make medicines cheaper, you'll hear more about that.
NORMAN: You are the Shadow Treasurer, I want to ask you about interest rates. We've seen that cash is so low that inflation is rising beyond expectations. Would it be irresponsible if the RBA did not lift interest rates on Tuesday?
CHALMERS: Well, unlike Josh Frydenberg, I'm not going to give free advice to the independent Reserve Bank, they will make their decision independent of political pressure from the Treasurer or from anybody else. The market expects there to be a rate rise, if not this Tuesday then certainly next month.
NORMAN: Does there need to be a rate rise to keep inflation - well, at least put it put a lid on it?
CHALMERS: I focus on what governments can do. The responsibility of governments - which this government has vacated the field on - is to grow the economy without adding to inflationary pressures, get real wages moving again, and ease the cost of living on Australian families. That's my focus.
NORMAN: Okay, the launch today is happening in my beautiful home city of Perth.
CHALMERS: It's a very beautiful day today, beautiful!
NORMAN: It is stunning, it's really put on your show today. I wanted to ask you though, Western Australia, you're only looking to pick up about three seats here. Does that show just how close this election is going to be. Like, if Anthony Albanese can't win seats here, can he win the election?
CHALMERS: I think the election will be close. We've said all along this election will be an absolute squeaker. We're trying to change the government and give this country a better future, that's never easy. You said only three seats in WA, I'd be incredibly pleased if we could get that many, but we take no outcome in any seat for granted. This will go right down to the wire and it is a pretty simple choice. We cannot afford and we cannot risk, we cannot bet our future, on another three years of skyrocketing costs of living, falling real wages, rising interest rates and people falling further and further behind under Scott Morrison.
NORMAN: So why WA for the launch?
CHALMERS: Because Anthony wants to demonstrate that he wants to govern for the whole country, and what better demonstration of that then coming to the great city of Perth in the great state of WA, to show that he wants to govern for the whole place. I think that's an important message. Anthony's leadership is defined by his capacity to bring people together to solve our big national challenges, to work with the Premiers not against them, and one of the choices at this election is Anthony Albanese working closely with Mark McGowan or Scott Morrison working closely with Clive Palmer.
NORMAN: Alright, we'll see Mark McGowan at today's launch, Jim Chalmers, thanks for your time.
CHALMERS: Thanks, Jane.
ENDS
