JIM CHALMERS MP
SHADOW TREASURER
MEMBER FOR RANKIN
 
 

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
PRESS CONFERENCE 
BRISBANE
WEDNESDAY, 2 FEBRUARY 2022

SUBJECTS: Reserve Bank Governor’s Speech to the National Press Club; The Disintegrating Morrison Government; Cabinet Minister Text Messages About Scott Morrison; Unemployment and Wages Growth; Interest Rates Rises; Federal Labor’s Prospects in Regional Queensland; Anthony Albanese’s 10 Day Tour of Regional Queensland; Storms in Southern Suburbs of Brisbane and Logan City.
 
JIM CHALMERS, SHADOW TREASURER: I wanted to say something about the Reserve Bank Governor's welcome contribution today. But first, can I just on behalf of the people of the southern suburbs of Brisbane and the northern end of Logan City in particular, thank the Energex workers and the emergency services workers who worked all through the night to try and clean up after the storms that we had last night. It's been a really difficult night for a lot of people without power. Energex have done their absolute best as have the emergency services to help clean up parts of our community which had been absolutely smashed by that storm that we had yesterday. I'm really proud of our community and I'm really grateful to everyone who's helped clean it up in the last little while. It's been really heartening to hear stories of neighbours helping neighbours, particularly elderly neighbours or neighbours with a disability. So I just wanted to give that shout out. It's been a difficult 24 hours or so in Logan City and in the southern suburbs of Brisbane. People have looked out for each other and looked after each other and I really appreciate it.
 
The Reserve Bank Governor made a welcome contribution today at the National Press Club out of Sydney, talking about the state of the economy and the outlook for the economy, as we hopefully emerge from the worst part of this pandemic. 
 
We want and expect the Australian economy to recover strongly. But for it to be the right kind of recovery, ordinary working families need to feel the benefits. It's not a real recovery if people are falling behind. It's not a real recovery if Australian working families don't get the wages growth that they need and deserve. For too long now working people in this country have had to deal with record low wages growth at the same time as the costs of living are going through the roof. This is a Prime Minister for high prices and low wages, it's that simple. This government for some time now has failed to come forward with a plan to deal with either of those things. The Reserve Bank Governor has indicated on a number of occasions now we do have an issue with stagnant wages growth in this economy. I think that's the defining issue as we emerge from this pandemic. Too many Australian working families are having to confront skyrocketing cost of living at the same time as their real wages are going backwards. 
 
The economy and the recovery would be stronger we're it not for the mistakes that Scott Morrison and Josh Frydenberg have made throughout this pandemic. The recovery would be stronger, the economy would be stronger, if the Government hadn't completely stuffed up things like rapid testing, boosters or quarantine. We want the economy to recover strongly. We expect it to recover strongly. In order for that to happen, the government needs to do much, much better. It is the government's complacency and their incompetence which has cruelled the recovery on a number of occasions in the last couple of years and we don't want to see that again. 
 
In  these economic conditions that we confront, the government has at least two main responsibilities. The first one is to make sure that small businesses and workers aren't unnecessarily left behind as we recover from this pandemic. That means taking a sensible approach to government support at the federal level. The other thing, and the Reserve Bank Governor mentioned this today, is we need to be thinking about growing the economy the right way. When it comes to the budget, it matters how much the government is spending, but it also matters how the government is spending that money. 
 
Under Scott Morrison and Josh Frydenberg we have a trillion dollars in debt and not enough to show for it. The way that this government has sprayed around tens of billions of dollars on JobKeeper for businesses that didn't need it, on sports rorts and car park rorts and all the rest of it has meant that that money couldn't be invested in the productive capacity of the economy. You don't grow the economy by rorting the budget. You don't grow the economy by spraying money around in your political interests and not in the national economic interest. 
 
There's a really clear contrast here. Think about the investments that we have committed to under Anthony Albanese, it's all about growing the economy the right way so that people aren't left behind; cleaner and cheaper energy, investment in the NBN and technology in the work from home economy, cheaper and more accessible childcare, free TAFE and more university places to deal with the skill shortages in the economy, a National Reconstruction Fund to invest in the care economy, advanced manufacturing and other industries of the future so we're creating jobs and diversifying our economy and revitalising our regions in particular. These are the sorts of investments the Reserve Bank Governor was talking about today when he was talking about human capital, technology and how we grow the economy the right way. 
 
Now the Prime Minister had an opportunity yesterday at the Press Club to outline, or to deal with any of these issues; the skyrocketing cost of living, real wages going backwards, and the fact that we will need to invest in the economy to grow it the right way in the future and the Prime Minister was either unwilling or unable to sketch out a plan that we need for Australia for a better future. He was largely silent on these issues. The Prime Minister for higher prices and lower wages was more or less silent on the important economic issues facing Australians and there's a really important reason for that, and we've seen it again today. 
 
This government is disintegrating. This government is disintegrating before our eyes. We've seen that when it comes to a cabinet minister and the former Premier of New South Wales and text messages about Scott Morrison. The truth is those text messages could have been written by almost anyone. I think most Australians think that Morrison cabinet minister was absolutely bang on. This is a Prime Minister that goes missing when people need him. This is a Prime Minister temperamentally incapable of leadership. This is a Prime Minister that puts petty politics before the people of this country. 
 
I think most Australians would agree with whoever wrote those text messages that this Prime Minister is temperamentally incapable of leadership. He goes missing when people need him most. He always wants to play a political angle, rather than do the right thing by the people of Australia. So we see this afternoon Barnaby Joyce has made another helpful contribution. The reality is this government is falling apart before our eyes. This government is a smoking ruin of disunity. We've seen that with these text messages. 
 
Whoever wrote those text messages is absolutely spot on about the Prime Minister. Now the only way we'll get a Prime Minister who takes responsibility, and a government with a plan for the future of the economy, is to elect an Albanese Labor government. The Morrison government has shown itself completely incapable of focusing on the economic issues that matter most to Australians. That's because they have descended into this absolute circus of disunity, as they deal with the fallout from these text messages revealed in the last 24 hours.
 
JOURNALIST: Mr Chalmers what makes you so confident this time around that Queensland is not going to be the problem as it was last time?
 
CHALMERS: Queensland is absolutely crucial for every election and this election will be no different. But I think that Anthony Albanese has a genuine affinity with Queenslanders, we saw that in the 10 days he spent this month in Queensland. While the Prime Minister was hiding from the fallout from the Rapid Antigen Test debacle, only emerging to go to the cricket, Anthony Albanese spent 10 days in Queensland, genuinely listening to Queenslanders and outlining his plans for the future of this state and the country more broadly. Anthony Albanese is like an honorary Queenslander, and not just since he became leader but when he was a minister before that and for as long as I've known him. He has a special affinity with Queensland and with Queenslanders.  Compare that with Scott Morrison who drops in from time to time to bag our premier and to bag our state. I think the contrast is really clear. Now we don't underestimate the challenge here in Queensland. It's always difficult for Labor at the federal level here in Queensland and we know we need to do better. From a personal point of view I've done I think more than 50 different visits now to a number of regional towns and cities in Queensland. That's because if we want the national economy to recover strongly, Queensland needs to be a bigger part of the story. Anthony Albanese understands that, Scott Morrison doesn't.
 
JOURNALIST: What sort of feedback are you getting in terms of concerns in regional Queensland about the impacts on employment and export potential. National debt is 44 per cent of GDP, there's a lot of tension with China, our major trading partner which seems to be picking off certain industries in retaliation. What's are regional Queenslanders telling you about their job security?
 
CHALMERS: People understand that these are uncertain times and the worst thing in these uncertain times is to have a government which is completely focused on its own internal problems. So that begins with genuinely listening to Queenslanders understanding their concerns about the future and having a plan to create new jobs and new industries which leverage our traditional strengths rather than replacing them. That's what's been our message up and down the Queensland coast, out west and in Brisbane in the southeast corner, is that we want Queensland to be a bigger part of a story of national economic success. That means investing in regions. It means investing in industries. Queensland's got a lot to be proud of the last couple of years. We want to give it even more reasons to be proud of the contribution it makes to the national economy. So many of our policies are geared towards that objective. One of the reasons why I wanted to be Shadow Treasurer and hopefully the Treasurer is because we want Queensland to have a big prominent voice in the conduct of national economic policy. That's what Anthony Albanese wants, it's what I want, and that's what we intend to do.
 
JOURNALIST: What sort of level of anxiety are you measuring about the post COVID economic recovery for families in light of the interest rate environment? 
 
CHALMERS: The big risk here is that when the national economy recovers it leaves lots of working families behind. It's not a real recovery if we've got a recovery on paper, but people are still finding it hard to provide for their loved ones. The big warning what the Reserve Bank Governor said today and before that, is that the issue around wages growth is still there. Even as the economy recovers from the worst of the pandemic, and we want that recovery to be strong, inclusive, broad and sustainable the big risk is that people get left behind. For too long now, the best part of a decade, people have been absolutely working their butts off, but they just can't get ahead because their wages haven't been growing as fast as their cost of living.
 
JOURNALIST: The last election was a shock for a lot of people what do you think of big differences this time are between the leaders?
 
CHALMERS: We went through a period of listening and learning from the outcome of the last election but I think it's important now that we look forward rather than back. Clearly, we've said a number of times now we intend to be more focused on fewer policies, not less ambitious, but perhaps fewer policies. We want to make sure that we have learned the lessons of the past but mostly we are looking to the future. Our whole pitch is about a better future for people whether it be here or around the country. All of our economic policies are about that. Our economic policy is about growing the economy the right way, so that people actually get a slice of the action in the recovery. I think that's the big difference between the parties. The government likes to brag about a recovery before it's happened without actually doing the work to secure that recovery and without caring whether or not people are left behind. That's the difference between the major parties in the parliament.
 
JOURNALIST: Is the prospect of interest rates rising in 2022 concerning or would it be a move home owners should be able to anticipate?
 
CHALMERS: The Reserve Bank Governor has been pretty clear that rates can't stay near zero forever but, equally, the Bank doesn't seem to be in a rush to raise those interest rates. Clearly no matter who wins the next election, nobody expects that interest rates will be near zero forever. The Reserve Bank Governor gave that indication again today. Interest rate rises will be difficult for people to wear. If you think about an average mortgage, even a quarter of a percent interest rate rise is about $100 a month and so clearly people would find that difficult to cop. The independent Reserve Bank Board takes these decisions independent of the political conversation at the time. No matter who wins the next election clearly at some point in the future interest rates will go up and that will make life harder for ordinary working families. Our job in government is to make life easier for working families. That's why we've got those policies around childcare, around cheaper energy and other policies as well around wages. The government doesn't seem to understand or doesn't seem to care that right now in Australia, the cost of living is going through the roof, real wages are going backwards and that's before we even get to a possible interest rate rise in the future.
 
JOURNALIST: What would you say to working families to concerned about the industrial environment and the extent to which perhaps employers might exploit the COVID situation when it comes to their rights and protections?
 
CHALMERS: Overwhelmingly, the employers in this country want to do the right thing by their workers. Right now we've got skill shortages, and people are finding it harder in some parts of the economy, to find the workers that they need. It's quite a remarkable situation. We've got 1.5 million Australians either unemployed or looking for more hours at the same time as we've got skill shortages, because the government's been attacking apprenticeships and training for much of their eight or nine years in office. So my view is employers in this country typically want to do the right thing by their workers, where there are exceptions we need strong industrial relations laws to actually protect people. Our priority and industrial relations is to deal with the job insecurity which is like a cancer on wages growth in this country. That's why we've got policies around labour hire and the Fair Work Commission and policies around the gig economy so that we can turn what is insecure work into more secure work in an effort to get wages growth going again,
 
JOURNALIST: Do you think on the unemployment rate is likely to fall below 4 per cent this year?
 
CHALMERS: It remains to be seen. Clearly there are going to be more jobs in the recovery than there were in the worst part of the recession. The unemployment rate ideally would be as low as possible. The unemployment rate doesn't tell the full story of unemployment or the labour market more broadly though. We need to care about job security. We need to care about wages growth. We need to care about underemployment, and all of these sorts of issues. We need to think about the labour market across the board. That's where there are some important issues that the Reserve Bank Governor has identified. We want unemployment to be as low as possible. We need to recognise that there are other issues in the labour market that need our attention
 
JOURNALIST: You mentioned Anthony Albanese spent 10 days in Queensland, what has he been saying to regional Queensland in terms of the 2050 targets, are workers in the mining industry for example confident in the ALP to manage the transition into renewable jobs? What have you been able to say to those people who may not feel like they're qualified to do those jobs?
 
CHALMERS: I don't underestimate Queenslanders and particularly Queenslanders in the regions, and I think Queensland stands to be amongst the biggest beneficiaries of adding cleaner and cheaper energy to the existing energy mix. If you look at the BCA modelling and the modelling we commissioned, regional Australia and regional Queensland stands to be amongst the biggest beneficiaries. Most of the investment in industry will come in regional Australia as a consequence of our climate change policy that Anthony Albanese and Chris Bowen announced towards the end of last year. I think people understand that in regional Queensland they know that we can do something meaningful about climate change, we can get more investment, we can get energy costs down and we can get cleaner energy into the system and fulfill our international obligations in a way that adds jobs, adds investment and adds opportunities for the people of regional Queensland. I think that is well understood now. What people can't understand is why we have a government which is hopelessly divided on climate change and says one thing in one part of Australia and another thing in another. The people of regional Queensland just deserve a government which tells it to them straight. There are big opportunities here if we're smart about grabbing them and that's what we intend to do.
 
JOURNALIST: Just back to unemployment now, if the unemployment rate does fall below 4 per cent would that be enough to trigger wage growth? 
 
CHALMERS: That remains to be seen. The economic orthodoxy says the lower that you can get unemployment, the more likely you are to get wages growth, but there's been a disconnect between economic growth and wages growth for much of the last eight or nine years of this government. We've had historically stagnant wages growth. That's because people are having the foundations of that wage growth undermined by things like labour hire, the gig economy and poor industrial relations, which mean that people who just want to go to work and provide for their loved ones, their jobs are becoming less and less secure. So if you don't deal with job insecurity, you won't deal with wages growth. The government doesn't care, doesn't understand or doesn't want to do anything about job insecurity. They've said in the past that weak wages growth is a ‘deliberate design feature of their economic policy’. We have a different view. We think if you deal with job insecurity, you can start to deal with these issues around wages. Ideally, we get the unemployment rate as low as possible and we deal with job insecurity at the same time and we get wages growing again in this country. Thanks very much.
 
ENDS