JIM CHALMERS MP
SHADOW TREASURER
MEMBER FOR RANKIN
E&OE TRANSCRIPT
DOORSTOP INTERVIEW
CAIRNS
WEDNESDAY, 10 NOVEMBER 2021
SUBJECTS: Federal Labor’s commitment to build a $50M CQ University campus in Cairns; skills shortage; Cairns’ economic recovery from the pandemic; climate change.
ELIDA FAITH, LABOR CANDIDATE FOR LEICHHARDT: I'm joined today by Shadow Treasurer Jim Chalmers; welcome to Far North Queensland, Jim. I'm really proud that an Albanese Labor Government is going to invest $50 million to build a brand new Central Queensland University campus right here in the middle of Cairns. Now we know we have a skill shortage, it is no secret. What is really important is skills, and this investment is going to ensure that our young people are going to have that opportunity to develop the skills that we need to plug the gap of our skills shortage that we have. It’s going to create 330 much needed construction jobs and it's going to double CQU’s student capacity which means we got to say up to 4,000 students coming into Cairns and this means more money flowing through our community. We have a fantastic lifestyle here in Cairns and why not have the education to match it. As a mother of a young child, I know I would rather her stay in town to study rather then send her away. Before I finish up, again I would like to thank Jim for coming up to Far North Queensland again, I know he's no stranger, but also Labor for making such a great investment in our community.
JIM CHALMERS, SHADOW TREASURER: Thanks very much Elida, I’m very pleased to be back in tropical Far North Queensland, the seventh time this parliamentary term, but the first time since we pre-selected the absolutely outstanding candidate that we have in Elida Faith. So I'm very pleased to be here with Elida and to help make this really important announcement.
This is a $50 million vote of confidence in Cairns and the surrounding region. This is all about more jobs, more skills, and more opportunities for Cairns and the surrounding areas so that this region can be a bigger part of the national economic recovery.
If this national economy is to recover strongly, we want Cairns and the Far North to be a much bigger part of that story. That means believing enough in this region to invest in it. And that's what an Anthony Albanese Labor Government with Elida Faith would do. We believe in this region. We want Cairns and the tropical Far North to take its rightful place as an economic powerhouse in the national economic recovery.
Now, this part of Australia has been through and is going through a very difficult period. This is one of the worst impacted areas when it comes to the pandemic. We don't just want Cairns and the surrounding region to limp out of this pandemic, we want it to stride out of it. We want to make sure that we can make this local economy a powerhouse of the national economy, and that means investing in jobs and skills and opportunities here.
This region has a double whammy of a weak labour market at the same time as skill shortages. What we want to do as a Federal Labor Government, under Anthony Albanese, is to make sure that we deal with those skills shortages and we provide those jobs and those opportunities right here in Cairns.
So I'm really pleased to be here with Nick Klomp from CQ University and to announce with Elida that the new campus will be right over here in the Cairns CBD in this really exciting part of Cairns right next to the Convention Centre.
This is a vote of confidence in Cairns and in the region. This shows an Albanese Labor Government would take the local economy seriously and we believe enough in this local economy and this local community to actually invest in jobs and skills and opportunities, and that's what today's announcement is all about. So we'll hear from Nick from a CQ University point of view, and then happy to take any questions.
NICK KLOMP, CQ UNIVERSITY, VICE CHANCELLOR: Hello everyone. I'm Nick Klomp, the Vice Chancellor and President of CQ University. I'm delighted to hear about the commitment from Federal Labor today for a new campus for CQ University here in the Cairns CBD. It’s been a while coming and I congratulate Elida Faith on her tireless advocacy for this. It's a recognition that for Cairns to really hit its straps, not just emerging from COVID, but over the longer period we need a really dynamic workforce. So many of the jobs going now in Cairns and Far North Queensland require tertiary qualifications and so many of them are going unfilled. So this isn't just about the hundreds of construction jobs that this creates, it's a shot in the arm that alone for Cairns, this is also about the long term future of Cairns and Far North Queensland. I think this reflects great vision and great support for regional Queensland more generally and specifically Cairns, and we're very, very excited by the announcement today.
REPORTER: Obviously Advance Cairns announced its big wish list for the upcoming election, $2 billion it's quite a big ask, how much are you hoping to commit?
CHALMERS: I want to pay tribute to Advance Cairns. They have released a really important blueprint today, and one of the key things that they've been calling for is a new CBD campus for CQ University. So we're very pleased that a very close working relationship between Federal Labor, Advance Cairns, Elida Faith, Nita Green, and others, has borne fruit today in this announcement, the $50 million vote of confidence in the Cairns economy. There are obviously other priorities that Advance Cairns has nominated in their blueprint and we will continue to engage with them and talk with them, and also all their member organisations and employers, the Chamber, local tourism groups and others. We genuinely want to work together to make sure that this local economy can power out of the pandemic. We want to make sure that everybody's got a seat at the table, that we are listening and that we are consulting.
In that respect, I want to pay tribute to Elida Faith. I mean, there is no more powerful or persistent advocate for their community than Elida has been when it comes to securing this $50 million commitment today.
As Nick said, the jobs are very important, but filling the skills shortages are important as well. Doubling the enrolment here at CQ University here in Cairns will be crucial to that, but also $500 million in new economic activity over the next decade. This is what can happen when you have a dedicated local champion like Elida Faith, working closely with Federal Labor to get the investments in this community that you need and deserve.
REPORTER: The government's announced a new fund to invest in emerging low emissions technology, is Labor inclined to support it?
CHALMERS: Obviously we'll look at the announcement that's been made by the Prime Minister. But when it comes to climate change and cleaner and cheaper energy, this Prime Minister and this government is a complete and utter joke. This is the Government that tried to abolish the Clean Energy Finance Corporation. And now because we're on the eve of election, they want people to believe that they want to invest in it. I mean, give me a break. If you want genuine action on cleaner and cheaper energy and the jobs and opportunities that will come from that and the investment that will flow, the only way forward is an Albanese Laboor Government. Scott Morrison can make all the announcements that he likes on the eve of an election. We know that his heart's not in doing something about cleaner and cheaper energy. We know he can't get his head around the opportunities and you can't trust a word that he says on the eve of an election. This is a guy who has spent his career as an obstacle to doing something meaningful on climate change. You can't believe what he says on the eve of an election.
REPORTER: Just on the Clean Energy Finance Corporation. What's wrong with using the Corporation to invest in carbon capture and storage projects?
CHALMERS: We'll have a look at what's being proposed today. Our opposition to carbon capture and storage as part of the CEFC was diverting money from renewable projects into CCS. If they're talking about new money, we will look carefully at what is being proposed here. We want to be constructive about all of this. But we have a genuine plan and we have form when it comes to caring about cleaner and cheaper energy, doing something meaningful about climate change, we understand as does the Business Council and other big employers, that that's how we modernise our economy and get those jobs and opportunities investment into the future. We know the regions stand to be among the biggest beneficiaries of that. The Government doesn't have a clue, they’ve spent years trying to prevent meaningful action around climate change.
REPORTER: Labor promised climate policies after Glasgow. So now that the conference is concluding, when can we expect to see your policies and targets?
CHALMERS: We already have some policies out there. Rewiring the Nation, which is all about more efficiently transmitting cleaner and cheaper energy from where it's created to where it's being used. That's a key policy. We've got policies on electric vehicles, tax cuts and other policies there. We've got policies for clean energy apprenticeships and more. We have said that what we need to see is not just the outcome of Glasgow but also the government's modelling, which they still haven't released. Clearly we are having conversations behind the scenes about what our policy looks like, but we need to know what the government's modelling looks like before we can come to a settled view and settled conclusion on that.
REPORTER: Scott Morrison appears in pre-election campaign mode. Is Labor ready for an election if one's called early next year?
CHALMERS: Too right we are. We are itching for a fight on the economy, on regional economies like this one. The Prime Minister's always campaigning, he spends every day - he's a marketing guy, he's an advertising guy – he is never happier than when he's at a photo opp. But what we need is leadership and ambition and vision. Instead, we get this kind of marketing approach. And so no doubt he likes the spinning and marketing that comes from saying we're in campaign mode, whether the election’s in March or whether it's in May, Elida Faith will be ready, I'll be ready, Anthony Albanese and our team will be ready. What we want to do is make this election about whether or not our local communities and our country and our society and our economy can be stronger after COVID than it was before. All the Prime Minister is offering his all the marketing and all the spin going back to all of the wage stagnation and missed opportunities of the last eight years.
REPORTER: Is Anthony Albanese leaving it too late to outline Labor's policies? Education, health?
CHALMERS: We've got a heap of policies out there. We've got policies on the National Reconstruction Fund, we've got skills policies, we've got policies out there on cleaner and cheaper energy. We've got a big policy out there on childcare, which is one of the big pressures on working families. We've got a big social housing policy and we know how important that will be here in Cairns. We've got a lot of policy out there but we will have a lot more to say between now and the election. But we've got a detailed agenda, which is about three things, supporting working families, secure jobs, and a future made in Australia. All of our policies in one way or another are about that. We've announced a heap of them, and there'll be more to come.
REPORTER: Elida, this is your first big pledge ahead of the election. What else is going to come?
FAITH: This is my first big pledge and it's really exciting. It's a no brainer. When I'm out talking to businesses, I'm hearing that they're absolutely screaming out skilled workers, whether it's a fitter and turner, a boilermaker or a barista, and what we've announced today is a nice big fat injection so CQU can build a new campus where people will be coming back out into our community and filling those gaps are going to be working. Going into this federal election as the candidate, I am always bending the ear of our Shadow Treasurer Jim Chalmers. He knows that, I think my name comes up on his phone quite regularly, I think that's why his staff is now answering. But what I can say is, I will continue to advocate and fight for this community because I think it is time for a change. And it is time for us to be heard in Canberra and I will continue to speak to the people that I need to in regards to our community's top priorities and you will hear more obviously going further into the election.
REPORTER: On international students, are they a big priority [inaudible]. I know they’re crucial in filling those skills shortages [inaudible]
CHALMERS: Obviously we've seen just how important international students are to our universities and our communities as well. What we want to do is make sure that when international borders open again, we can have those international students and we can get all the settings right so that we make the most out of that opportunity. I mean, our universities are terrific, world class universities and obviously a key part of that will be international students. I think some universities have come to their own conclusion that they would like to be less reliant on international students. But we want to see international students back, we want to see Cairns teeming with people, we want to make sure that people come here for the opportunity and stick around. Our contribution to that is to make sure that the university is terrific, that there are opportunities for local young people, and that we can fill those skills shortages.
ENDS
