JIM CHALMERS MP
SHADOW TREASURER
MEMBER FOR RANKIN
 

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
DOORSTOP INTERVIEW
BRISBANE
SUNDAY, 3 APRIL 2022

SUBJECTS: Anthony Albanese’s Queensland Campaign Rally; Donisha Duff; Michael Towke
 
JOURNALIST: Kicking things off in Queensland, what do we call this? Is this the campaign launch of (INAUDIBLE) to Queensland?

JIM CHALMERS, SHADOW TREASURER: This is a big Queensland rally full of enthusiasm for Anthony Albanese and for a better future. We know that we have to work twice as hard for every vote in Queensland and we're up for the challenge. Queenslanders are sick and tired of a Prime Minister who leaves us in the lurch when we need him the most. Scott Morrison turns his back on us during the floods, during the pandemic - Queenslanders are tired of that. Anthony Albanese shows up and stands up for Queensland. He's an honorary Queenslander with a true affinity for the people of this state. And I'm looking forward to campaigning with him up and down the coast and inland over the next six or seven weeks

JOURNALIST: I feel like we always say Queensland is going to be where it's won and lost but probably more true than ever in this particular election?

CHALMERS: Clearly we can't win an election without doing better in Queensland. We're up for that challenge. And I've spent a lot of time with him in Queensland. He's got a genuine affinity. He makes real connections with Queenslanders and I think that that will put us in good stead during the campaign. 

JOURNALIST: How many seats do you realistically think you can win? 

CHALMERS: Well, we're not going to be tallying up election outcomes. I think that we've got a good story to tell in Queensland. I think we've got a leader who shows up and stands up for Queenslanders. We've got a Prime Minister who goes missing when we need him, points the finger of blame, picks unnecessary fights, and tried to divide us and I think Queenslanders will see through Scott Morrison just like they've seen through his budget.

JOURNALIST: Is this basically a signal that Labor's election platform will be a presidential-style campaign with Anthony Albanese? And, kind of, a little bit more detail on policy platforms already announced?

CHALMERS: We've got a better leader. We've got a better team. And we've got a better approach to Queensland than our LNP opponents, I think that's clear. Now the Prime Minister has gone missing time and time again, while Anthony Albanese has shown up. And he's supported by a great Queensland team, a great team nationally as well. And so we've got the superior offering. Now, our plan is to get cleaner and cheaper energy, to deal with skill shortages, to make childcare cheaper, to build a future made in Australia, to co-invest in the care economy, advanced manufacturing and the digital economy - right across the board. We've got a superior economic plan for Queensland and for the nation beyond. And I'm personally really looking forward to prosecuting the case over the next six or seven weeks here in Queensland.

JOURNALIST: Your candidate, Donisha, had an opinion (INAUDIBLE).

CHALMERS: Oh, look, we've got an amazing candidate in Bowman, Donisha Duff, and she's an incredible advocate for her community where she lives and works. And so we stand side by side with her with the commitments and the comments that she makes about the environmental sustainability of her area.

JOURNALIST: Did the Prime Minister's preselection opponent get racially vilified by the Prime Minister 15 years ago?

CHALMERS: I don't think Australians believe a word that Scott Morrison says. I don't believe they can. I don't think that they believe a word he says about his own pre-selection. And if you can't believe him about his own pre-selection, you can't believe him about real wages, or the future of our economy. There's a pattern here. The people who know Scott Morrison the best, who've worked with him the longest, think the least of him and trust him even less. Time and time again, over Scott Morrison's career, there is that one thing in common. There is a pattern here. The people who know him best work with him the longest have the longest history with him, like him the least and trust him the least. 

JOURNALIST: What does it tell you that Michael Towke would break his silence after 15 years?

CHALMERS: He was obviously treated really shabbily. And people you talk to describe him as a person of real integrity and real commitment, done over in a pre-selection by the guy that became the Prime Minister. Now, it's not for me to comment on the ins and outs of that pre-selection. But it's very, very clear, not just from Michael and from others. But there is that pattern here. What's consistent across all of this commentary? The longer you know Scott Morrison, the closer you work with him, the more history you have with him, the less you like him and the less you trust him. And I think there's something in that for the rest of the country too. Thanks very much.

ENDS