E&OE TRANSCRIPT
PRESS CONFERENCE
BRISBANE
THURSDAY, 14 NOVEMBER 2019

SUBJECTS: Bushfires; Frydenberg recycling old tax policies; Liberals’ lack of a plan for the economy.

JIM CHALMERS, SHADOW TREASURER: Thanks for coming along this morning. First of all, we extend our sympathies to the families of the victims of these horrendous bushfires, including the family of the man who was found near Kempsey overnight. This is a dangerous time. In Queensland alone there are something like 75 different fires burning at the moment. We encourage people to listen to the authorities, to follow their plan, and to keep themselves as safe as possible.

I want to comment on a speech that Josh Frydenberg is giving today about a range of things including tax breaks for infrastructure. Josh Frydenberg is recycling an old policy to try and distract from the fact that the economy is floundering on his watch and that he doesn't have a plan to turn it around. Pretending that an old policy is new again or a new way to deal with an economy which is slowing is not a plan, it's a con.

What Josh Frydenberg is proposing today in pretending that an old policy is new again to deal with an economy which has deteriorated since the election is not a plan, it's a con.

The economy has deteriorated since the Government was re-elected in May and nothing in this discussion paper will turn around the slowest growth in a decade, or business investment which hasn't been this week since the early 90s recession, or wages growth which slowed again in the new data which was released this week. A discussion paper about old policies will not turn around an economy floundering on Josh Frydenberg's watch. When we have the slowest growth in a decade, weak business investment, record household debt, declining living standards, declining productivity, when there are issues right across the economy a discussion paper about a policy which has featured in the last two Budgets is not going to turn things around. The issues raised in this discussion paper and the policies announced in the last two Budgets won't get to the deeper and broader issues and the broader problems facing business investment in this country.

We will take our time to go through the discussion paper when it's released. We will come to a considered view via our usual processes and come to a position in time for any legislation which is proposed and put before the parliament.

There are two other issues raised in the speech that Josh Frydenberg is giving today. The first one is in relation to the Federation. Josh Frydenberg pretends that this Morrison Government wants to work with the states at the same time as they are cancelling COAG meetings. Scott Morrison and Josh Frydenberg are cancelling COAG meetings and pointing the finger at the states at the same time as they pretend that they want to work with the states.

The other issue that he raised was around national debt. Josh Frydenberg says it's a high priority of his to pay down debt while in fact debt has never been higher in this country than it is right now on Josh Frydenberg's watch. Josh Frydenberg pretends he wants to pay down debt but debt has more than doubled under the life of this Liberal Government. It's $400 billion for the first time in our history. Josh Frydenberg oversees the highest amount of net debt that we have ever had in the history of this country.

When Josh Frydenberg goes to work each day he's not thinking about how to grow the economy, he's thinking about how to distract from the fact that the economy is floundering. More of the same recycled policies, more of the same blame-shifting, finger-pointing, and banging on about Labor won't turn around an economy which has deteriorated and is floundering substantially on the Liberals' watch. Thank you.

ENDS