JIM CHALMERS MP
SHADOW TREASURER
MEMBER FOR RANKIN

 
E&OE TRANSCRIPT

TELEVISION INTERVIEW
ABC NEWS BREAKFAST
FRIDAY, 30 APRIL 2021
 
SUBJECTS: Andrew Laming; Treasurer’s Budget backflip; Wages and job security; Income tax cuts to benefit those most in need; Brittany Higgins meeting Scott Morrison.
 
MICHAEL ROWLAND, HOST: In the wake of the Treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, quite dramatically resetting the coalition's economic strategy and priorities in that keynote speech yesterday, let's bring in for his response, the Shadow Treasurer, Jim Chalmers. Mr Chalmers, Good morning to you.
 
JIM CHALMERS, SHADOW TREASURER: Good morning, Michael.
 
ROWLAND: I want to get to matters economic in just a moment, but first of that story broken on 7.30 last night. Four more women coming out and talking about the alleged behaviour of Liberal MP Andrew Laming. What did you make of that, and what should the reaction be, from your perspective, from the Government?
 
CHALMERS: Look, I think these are more reasons why Andrew Laming shouldn't be in the parliament. We've had the view for some time that he's not a fit and proper person to sit in the parliament. One of the reasons why we will be contesting that seat of Bowman so vigorously at the next election is because the people of the Redlands and the Bayside, near where I am in Southeast Queensland, they need and deserve much better representation than they've been getting.
 
ROWLAND: Is Andrew Laming's diagnosis of ADHD an excuse, in your view?
 
CHALMERS: Well, I'm no expert on ADHD, and I'm reluctant to wade into that side of it. Clearly, his behaviour, over a long period, some of the issues that have come to light in recent months in particular, they make it inappropriate that he be in the parliament, and make it inappropriate that the Prime Minister has kept him in the party room. Our focus is on ensuring that we win that seat of Bowman, with Donisha Duff, to make sure that we give the people the Redlands and the Bayside the representation they need and deserve. And that's been lacking in that area for more than a decade now.
 
ROWLAND: And Andrew Laming says those claims made on 7.30 last night were utterly without substance. Let's move on now to the Treasurer's speech yesterday. Does Labor support his desire to now have that jobless rate with a four in front of it?
 
CHALMERS: Well, it's hard to take them seriously, Michael. I mean this Government's been in office now for eight years. And in that eight years, their economic mismanagement has been defined by record low wages growth, underemployment, job insecurity. So, we had a bit of a change in rhetoric yesterday from the Treasurer. We had more of the same kind of marketing and spin, but what matters is not what he announces in a scripted speech that he reads out. What matters, is what the Government's actually delivering. And the labour market's been weak for a long time now, even before COVID-19. They had record debt in the Budget, even before COVID-19. So, we'll judge them on what they actually deliver, not what they announce. That gap between announcement and delivery in this government over the last eight years is a massive chasm when it comes to the sort of outcomes we need to see in the jobs market, when it comes to wages, and job security, in particular.
 
ROWLAND: A jobless rate of 5 per cent or lower is something though, that Labor would obviously like to achieve to?
 
CHALMERS: Of course, Michael. It's been obvious to everybody but the Treasurer for some time now, that we need to get much closer to full employment if we're going to get that wages growth that Australian workers need and deserve. For a long time now, including in recent weeks, the Treasurer has pretended that he can start cutting the budget savagely after the unemployment rate gets just below 6 per cent. And that's been absurd from the beginning. We've been pointing that out. Now is not the time for austerity. Our fear is that this is just more rhetoric and spin from the Government, that there will be nasties in the Budget, but they've just pushed those nasties to the other side of an election to try and skate through again.
 
ROWLAND: But the lack of austerity in this Budget, that's been made very clear, as you say, by the Treasurer, that makes it, politically, much harder for Labor, doesn't it?
 
CHALMERS: Well, the politics are secondary here, Michael, what we need to see is a good economic outcome. The economy is recovering, but it's patchy, and uneven. There's still two million Australians who can't find a job or enough work. There are still lots of people for whom this still feels like a recession. And so we want people to get ahead in this recovery and we don't want to see people left behind. We haven't seen the Budget yet, but the facts on the table are already obvious. The Government's got north of a trillion dollars in debt, they don't have enough to show for that. We're worried about that. And that's because the Budget, as it stands, is riddled with those partisan rorts that have come to light in recent times, and it's weighed down with waste. And that means that there is less room to invest in people, and invest in their jobs, and invest in the future. So, the Government has been mismanaging the economy for some time now. And they're asking for another three years, for more of the same wage stagnation, job insecurity, and waste in the Budget. So, let's see what they actually do, not what the Treasurer reads out in the speech, a couple of weeks before the Budget itself.
 
ROWLAND: There's speculation in some quarters the Budget might include the fast-tracking of those stage three tax cuts, which would see a flat 30 per cent tax rate for incomes from $45,000 all the way up to $200,000. If that was the case, would Labor support the fast-tracking of stage three?
 
CHALMERS: Well, we've made it clear for some time now, that we support tax relief for people on middle and low incomes and that should be the priority. If there are any new tax cuts in this Budget, they should be directed towards those that need them most. We've been supportive in the parliament of tax relief for people on modest incomes and middle incomes. If the government were to bring forward those tax cuts, we'd have a look at what they're proposing, specifically.
 
We've said all along, about that third stage of the tax cuts, that it didn't make sense to commit such a large sum, three or four years down the track, where, overwhelmingly, the benefits flow to the highest income earners, without knowing the state of the Budget at a time. Now since then, since the Government made that commitment, they've racked up more than a trillion dollars in debt. There have been a lot of other pressing priorities in the Budget, whether it's childcare, aged care, skills, cleaner and cheaper energy. There are other things that Government needs to be contemplating.
 
So, we'll have a look at what they propose, if there’s cost of living relief for people who work hard and struggle in this country, then obviously we'll be supportive. We'll have a look at anything else they propose. There would be more room in the Budget to support people who are experiencing cost of living pressures if the Government hadn't wasted so much money on sports rorts, and dodgy land deals, and political advertising, and market research, and giving billions of dollars to already profitable companies that didn't need JobKeeper. Budgets are about priorities. We want to see bang for buck. There's already a trillion dollars in debt. We need to make sure that Australia has something to show for that.
 
ROWLAND: And just one quick final question before you go. The Prime Minister is sitting down for that meeting today with Brittany Higgins. What should he tell her?
 
CHALMERS: I think, most importantly, it's about listening to Brittany Higgins. Not necessarily about what the Prime Minister tells her, but what he hears from her. That he genuinely listens. Brittany Higgins has been courageous throughout and she's done a very difficult thing. He needs to recognise that, and he needs to genuinely listen to her in the first instance.
 
ROWLAND: Jim Chalmers, in Brisbane, thank you so much for joining us.
 
CHALMERS: Thank you, Michael.
 
ENDS