JIM CHALMERS MP
SHADOW TREASURER
MEMBER FOR RANKIN

 

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
DOORSTOP
CANBERRA
MONDAY, 31 MAY 2021
 
SUBJECTS: Scott Morrison’s visit to New Zealand; Victoria lockdown; Backing Townsville’s bid to host State of Origin; Scott Morrison, Josh Frydenberg and Dan Tehan leaving Victorians high and dry; Australia’s relationship with China and New Zealand; Morrison Government’s failures on vaccines, quarantine, public awareness and mRNA manufacturing.
 
JIM CHALMERS, SHADOW TREASURER: First of all, the Prime Minister is in New Zealand today for some really important discussions. We want those discussions to be productive. We want to ensure that the really close relationship between Australia and New Zealand gets even closer.
 
We've got a lot in common, always, but particularly in the last year or so as we've done our best, there and here, to combat the spread of this virus. New Zealanders are not just counterparts, New Zealanders are whānau. They are family and we respect them greatly.  We want the Prime Minister's discussions with Prime Minister Ardern to be successful, and fruitful, and productive today.
 
Victorians are understandably very anxious about the uncertainty of yet another lockdown. I think every Australian feels for what the Victorian people are going through as they face this anxiety, and they face this uncertainty, and they do what they can to ensure that this lockdown is as short as possible. Obviously, there's a lot that troubles us and worries us about what's happening in Victoria, particularly I think when it comes to aged care.
 
Victorians wouldn't be in this position if the Prime Minister had got the vaccination rollout and the quarantine build right from the beginning. I think it's entirely reasonable that the Victorian people are frustrated, and anxious, and possibly angry. I say to the Prime Minister that all they expected of Scott Morrison was some competence when it comes to the vaccine rollout and the quarantine bill, and some compassion when it comes to economic support. They're getting neither competence, nor compassion, from this Prime Minister.
 
The Victorian business community is being strangled by the Prime Minister's failures on vaccinations and quarantine. It didn't take long for this Prime Minister and this Treasurer to go from 'we're all in this together' to now all of a sudden Victorians are all on their own.
 
This is a Treasurer who likes to parade his Victorian credentials when it suits him, when there's a photo op in it for him, but when Victorians really need this Treasurer he's gone missing once again. Scott Morrison and Josh Frydenberg are leaving Victorians high and dry in their hour of need. What we want to see is the State Government and the Federal Government working together to provide the necessary support to ensure the Victorians can get through a really difficult period.
 
One more issue before I take Eliza's question.
 
Today the NRL will be deciding where the replacement State of Origin will take place. I'm with Annastacia Palaszczuk on this - we want to see Origin played in Townsville. I spend a lot of time in North Queensland, Rugby League is religion in North Queensland, people will come from all around. I think it's a really important opportunity for the NRL to reward the loyalty of fans of North Queensland, and the Far North as well, and to give Townsville the origin that they deserve. Over to you.
 
JOURNALIST: What is it you would like to see the Federal Government do to support Victorian businesses, workers, both?
 
CHALMERS: We've seen the State Government come to the table with a support package and the Federal Government should too. Ideally, there'd be some kind of income support, whether it's JobKeeper or perhaps they've got a better way of doing it. We've said all along that economic support should be tailored to the economic conditions. We are worried that this Government is very quick to pull economic support but very slow to roll out the vaccines and take responsibility for quarantine. It is time for the Federal Government to do what the Victorian Government has done, which is to sit down and work out what economic support might be possible to help Victorians get through a difficult period.
 
JOURNALIST: Have you heard from anybody who took Dan Tehan's suggestion and hopped on down to Centrelink?
 
CHALMERS: That was a train wreck interview from Dan Tehan on the Insiders program. I think a lot of Victorians will be really worried that a cabinet Minister in the Morison Government doesn't seem to understand what support is available, and not available, to Victorians in their hour of need. This is a Victorian cabinet Minister telling people to go off to Centrelink for a payment that many people wouldn't even be eligible for.
 
JOURNALIST: There were lockdowns in WA and Queensland after JobKeeper ended neither those states, asked for federal support. So why does Victoria need it?
 
CHALMERS: I think the anxiety around Victoria, and we don't know yet, is that the situation is more serious. In both of those places that you mentioned, the spread was quickly limited. I think there is a lot of understandable anxiety about the number of places that are involved now in this Victorian outbreak. We don't want this lockdown to go for even a day longer than is absolutely necessary, but I think the experts are concerned about how this might play out. We don't yet know whether the lockdown will end at the end of the week as it is currently slated to. The point that we're making, once again, is if Scott Morrison and Josh Frydenberg really cared about the workers and small businesses of Victoria they wouldn't be so quick to rule out economic support. If only this Government was as quick to roll out the vaccines and take responsibility for quarantine, as they are to rule out support for Victorians doing it tough.
 
JOURNALIST: The Health Minister says the current supports, the pandemic leave payment and the health emergency crisis payments, are both sufficient. Do you agree? And if not, why not?
 
CHALMERS: Well, I don't think Victorians would agree that the payments which are available now, for the right reasons, are sufficient to get a lot of workers through this difficult period. I think there's a lot of concern that Victorians might be forced to make that horrible choice between doing the right thing by their family and doing the right thing by their co-workers, particularly casual workers. They're facing a difficult choice. We don't want people to go to work if they are at risk of spreading the virus, many workers don't have the opportunity to go to work because of the lockdown as well. All we're asking is for the Federal Government to understand that, and to recognise that, and to come to the table as the Victorian Government has. We've heard all kinds of words, particularly from Josh Frydenberg, about Victoria and how he's a proud Victorian – well, it's time for him to show it.
 
JOURNALIST: Do you think people might go to work even if they're sick if there isn't more support on offer.
 
CHALMERS: We need to avoid that at almost any cost. All along, all throughout the spread of this diabolical virus, we've said that we don't want people to go to work if they might be carrying the virus. We don't want people to make that choice. Other Victorian workers, obviously don't have that option. All we're saying to the Federal Government, is recognise that Victorians are doing it tough, don't be so quick to dismiss and discard the workers and small businesses of that great State.
 
JOURNALIST: Is New Zealand too soft on China?
 
CHALMERS: I'm reluctant to buy into the foreign policy of another country. Obviously there has been, on your network, some commentary along those lines. Australia has its own job to do managing a really complex relationship. Our view is that China has become more assertive, and if there's a failure in Australia when it comes to that relationship it's been a failure to plan for that more assertive China. We want to make sure that we can maintain the economic and security links which are necessary for the region to prosper, and part of that is making sure that there's a good relationship between Australia and China. No doubt New Zealanders are thinking along similar lines.
 
JOURNALIST: How would you describe the handling of the relationship between Australia and New Zealand?
 
CHALMERS: Look, I think there've been some rough patches caused by some imprudent language from Peter Dutton and others. I think from time to time this Government fails to recognise the importance of our New Zealand brothers and sisters when it comes to a whole range of issues. And when Peter Dutton, chasing the front page of the newspapers, makes remarks that are offensive to our New Zealand friends and family, I think that sets the relationship back. We want the Prime Minister to have a good, productive relationship with Prime Minister Ardern. We have so much in common, and so much that we can achieve together. There are so many New Zealanders here in Australia, including in my electorate, and I'm proud to represent them as well. And so we want to make sure that we get maximum advantage out of this important relationship. That's diminished from time to time by the language used by Peter Dutton and others,
 
JOURNALIST: On Queensland not wanting to miss out on the international students intake, Annastacia Palaszczuk is still very keen on keeping Wellcamp. Is that the right tack or should she forget about Wellcamp and go a different route?
 
CHALMERS: I met with John Wagner last week, as did Anthony Albanese, and we spoke through the proposal around Wellcamp, a proposal that the Prime Minister didn't even understand when he dismissed it. He flew into Queensland, he bagged Queensland, he bagged a proposal he didn't understand the details of, he said before he corrected himself that Toowoomba was a desert, and then he flew out once again. We think that the Prime Minister needs to take responsibility for quarantine, that means purpose-built quarantine facilities. If he wants to rule out Wellcamp, than what's his better idea? What we want to see, and what Anthony Albanese has said repeatedly, is we have a four point plan to fix the failures that the Prime Minister has brought to this issue - we need purpose built quarantine, we need to fix the vaccine rollout, we need a proper advertising campaign to encourage people to get the jab, and we need to have the capacity to manufacture mRNA vaccines. It's pretty clear. The Prime Minister repeatedly washes his hands of those four key responsibilities, and that means we'll have lockdowns like we're seeing in Victoria for longer.
 
ENDS