E&OE TRANSCRIPT
DOORSTOP INTERVIEW
PARLIAMENT HOUSE, CANBERRA
TUESDAY, 1 SEPTEMBER 2020
 
SUBJECTS: National Accounts; The Morrison Government’s lack a plan for jobs and the recovery; JobKeeper; Superannuation Guarantee; Detained Australian journalist in China.
 
JIM CHALMERS, SHADOW TREASURER: This week's National Accounts will confirm what Australians already know; this is the deepest downturn in the economy in our lifetimes. We are in the midst of a deep, damaging recession. This is the deepest, most damaging recession that most of us have lived through and will live through. Already one million Australians are unemployed, and the Government expects another 400,000 Australians to join the unemployment queues between now and Christmas. Australia is in the midst of a full-blown jobs crisis, but the Morison Government doesn't have a jobs plan. They've got a plan to freeze the pension, to cut super, and to wind back JobKeeper but they don't have the plan that Australians need to protect jobs and create new jobs in the depths of this recession. 
 
What we desperately need to see when these National Accounts are released is not another description from the Treasurer about how bad things are, Australians already know how bad things are, they need to know what the Morison Government is going to actually do about it. Already too many people are being left behind by the Government during this first recession in three decades. We want to make sure that people can get ahead in the recovery. That requires a plan. The absence of a plan for jobs means the unemployment queues are longer than they need to be. The absence of a plan for aged care means more lives are being lost than is necessary to this crisis. What we need to see is a Government which is as focused on a plan for jobs and a plan for aged care, as they are on a plan to shift the blame and point the finger at state governments like in Victoria.
 
Tomorrow when the National Accounts are released, Australians need and deserve more than the same blame shifting, finger pointing or excuse making. They want to hear a plan from the Government about what they are going to do about the deepest, most damaging recession of our lifetime, and what they are going to do about a million unemployed Australians and another 400,000 who are expected to join them between now and Christmas. It makes no sense whatsoever when unemployment is rising, for Government support in the economy to be falling. That's what the Government has in store for the Australian people who deserve better.
 
JOURNALIST: Are you concerned that after JobKeeper and these subsidies go down, that the Government could go down the path of austerity instead of trying to pump up the economy?
 
CHALMERS: We're very concerned that the Treasurer said he'll draw his inspiration from Margaret Thatcher and all of the divisive politics and economics that she is associated with. That is very concerning. That will send a shiver down the spine of every Australian worker. My concern is that the Government is in a rush to pull out JobKeeper, but they don't have a jobs plan to replace it. They're clamouring all over themselves to wind back support in the economy while unemployment is still rising, and they don't have a jobs plan to replace it. That's very concerning for the million Australians already unemployed and the 400,000 who are expected to join them.
 
JOURNALIST: In terms of the scheduled superannuation rise, would Labor be open to even delaying it by six months, just until the economy's in better shape for businesses to be able to handle this increase?
 
CHALMERS: No, it's absolutely crucial that the legislated Superannuation Guarantee increases continue, as legislated. It's more important than ever with all of the damage done to people's retirement incomes and their security in retirement by early access to super. We need to see those balances restored. The way to make people more secure in retirement isn't to cut superannuation. The Government is using this crisis as an excuse to thieve people's super. That's not good enough. We need to see a jobs plan, not a plan to cut super, wind back JobKeeper, and freeze the pension.
 
JOURNALIST: Are you concerned that it's taken two former Labor Prime Ministers to get a bit more attention on this issue, rather than the current Opposition?
 
CHALMERS: Not at all. I think it's terrific to see Paul Keating and Kevin Rudd out there talking about the benefits of superannuation. Superannuation is a proud achievement not just of the Australian Labor Party under Paul Keating and advanced under Kevin Rudd; it is a proud achievement of the entire nation. When other countries look at Australia, and they see our advantages, of which there are many, one of those that they admire is our superannuation system. Compulsory super has built a more dignified retirement for more Australians than would otherwise have access to it and it's built a multi-trillion-dollar investment pool which can be invested in growth and in jobs here in Australia.
 
JOURNALIST: The Australian journalist detained in China - this is arbitrary detention isn't it? There's been no reason given for this detention.
 
CHALMERS: It's incredibly concerning. I can imagine what it's like for her family in particular. We will support any efforts that the Government's putting in to support her and her family via the usual consular support. This is a very concerning development. We are as one with the Government in trying to resolve it. 
 
Thank you.
 
ENDS