JIM CHALMERS MP
SHADOW TREASURER
MEMBER FOR RANKIN

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
DOORSTOP INTERVIEW

BRISBANE

TUESDAY, 13 JULY 2021

SUBJECTS: Scott Morrison’s incompetence on vaccines; Sydney lockdown; Support for NSW must guarantee no one loses their job; JobSeeker; Ian Silk’s retirement.

JIM CHALMERS, SHADOW TREASURER: The workers and small businesses of Sydney are the victims of Scott Morrison's incompetence. They wouldn't be in this position if Scott Morrison had done his two jobs on vaccines and quarantine. The fact that the workers and small businesses of Sydney are struggling is Scott Morrison's fault. These lockdowns are Scott Morrison's lockdowns. He has been desperate to ensure that somebody else picks up the tab for his incompetence, but we hope to see a genuine package of support later today at some stage.

It's been obvious for some time that this package of support has been needed. Where has the Prime Minister been for all of these days? Every day that the Prime Minister has tried to dodge his responsibility has made life harder for people who are already under the pump in Sydney and the surrounding areas. Every day that this Prime Minister has gone missing in action has made life more difficult for the people of Sydney. So we call on the Prime Minister to come forward with a genuine package of support. 

Unfortunately, there's a pattern of behaviour here when it comes to Scott Morrison. When it comes to Scott Morrison it's always deny, dodge, disappoint, repeat. We hope we don't say that again today. 

We don't want the Prime Minister to make the same mistake in Sydney that the Treasurer made in Melbourne. We don't want the people of Sydney left in the lurch, like the Treasurer left the people of Melbourne in the lurch.

The most important thing we need to see in this package is a guarantee that workers will keep their jobs. We don't want to see the Government discard the most important aspect of JobKeeper, just so they don't have to admit that they were wrong to cut it.

This is a humiliating day for the Prime Minister and the Treasurer. We said all along that they were too quick to cut JobKeeper and too slow to roll out the vaccines. Unfortunately, that's turned out to be the truth. 

We have seen throughout this process, the Government's been in too big a rush to cut JobKeeper and not in enough of a rush to get people vaccinated. And the consequences of that is the Government having to come back with another package of support today. We need to see a guarantee that people will keep their jobs.

If this package doesn't guarantee that people will keep their jobs, then it won't be worth all of the spin and all of the announcements that we see later today. What we need to see from the Government is a genuine package that supports workers and small businesses, that guarantees that that link will be maintained between employer and employee. That was the most important part of JobKeeper. And we don't want to see that discarded.

So let's see what the Government announces later today. As always with this Government, you need to read the fine print. As always with this Government, it's not what they announce but what they actually deliver that matters. 

Workers and small businesses have been waiting too long already for a package of support. We want to make sure that it's genuine. That it does it’s job. And the most important part of that is maintaining a link between the workers of Sydney and their employers. We don't want to see them left in the lurch and left behind, which is the Prime Minister's instinct, always trying to dodge responsibility, always trying to duck shove, always hoping that somebody else picks up the tab for his incompetence.

JOURNALIST: What's the minimum amount that support should be?

CHALMERS: We want to make sure that the package is fair-dinkum and that means sufficient support to get people through a difficult period. We won't be nominating a number a couple of hours before the Government makes its announcement, but it needs to be sufficient.

You know one of the mistakes that the Government made in Melbourne and in Victoria was they came in with too little, too late, too narrowly defined. And so the damage done by Scott Morrison's lockdown there, the bill that had to be paid for his incompetence on vaccines and quarantine, was never properly paid. There was too little support there. And we don't want to see them repeat that mistake.

What we want to see in Sydney is a genuine package of support that guarantees that people will keep their jobs. The people of Sydney have been waiting for too long already while the Prime Minister has tried to dodge responsibility. That needs to end today.

JOURNALIST: Support for businesses is likely to be a version of the cash flow boost that's been used previously. Is that the best approach?

CHALMERS: Obviously, we'll be supportive about anything that helps small businesses and workers get through a difficult period, but there's no guarantees in that cash flow boost that that money will be spent retaining employees, which is the most important task. The workers and small businesses or Sydney are struggling, they are the victims of Scott Morrison's incompetence on vaccines and quarantine. We want to make sure that those guarantees are there. Support for small business is important, but it will only be as good as it can be if it ensures that people don't lose their jobs.

JOURNALIST: ACOSS says may of the unemployed at the moment can't get a job and therefore JobSeeker should be lifted. Do you agree with that?

CHALMERS: JobSeeker needs to be adequate and it needs to recognise that there are many more people at the moment who are under pressure, under the pump, and risk losing their job than in more normal times. We've heard repeatedly from this Government that the economy is recovering, but that recovery is at risk because of Scott Morrison's incompetence. We don't want to see Australians fall victim to Scott Morrison's incompetence, including the unemployed, we want to make sure that JobSeeker is adequate.

JOURNALIST: ACOSS says that it should be $475 a week for a single. Is that what it should be?

CHALMERS: I'm not going to nominate a number today when it comes to JobSeeker. I'm engaged with ACOSS very frequently on all of these sorts of important issues. We said all along that the old $40 a day was insufficient in normal times and during the pandemic. We will always be better for the disadvantaged in this country than the Liberals. We're not prepared to nominate a number today.

Just before I finish up, I'd just like to say that Ian Silk, who's been the CEO of Australian Super for a really long time now is retiring, he's announced his retirement. Ian Silk has been one of the genuine champions of superannuation in this country. He is one of the reasons why superannuation has been so strong, particularly industry super. He's been a pivotal figure in superannuation and therefore a pivotal figure in the success of the system. We'll be sad to see him go but we congratulate him on a really wonderful innings at the head of Australian Super. Thanks very much.

ENDS