Doorstop interview, Crestmead, Queensland

JIM CHALMERS:

First of all, massive congratulations to the mighty Matildas’ one‑nil over Ireland last night. Congratulations, of course to stand‑in captain and also the goalscorer ‑ Catley is a great player, of course, really right across the field. A wonderful performance in front of 75,000 people cheering them on, including a very enthusiastic Prime Minister and Sports Minister as well. So congratulations to the Matildas, getting their World Cup campaign off to the perfect start with a really hard fought win against the Irish ‑ well done.

Today, we're here talking about Measuring What Matters and Australia's first ever national wellbeing framework. And it's been so terrific to start the day, spending time with people who are investing in their own health and wellbeing here, with a functional fitness class for people who might be overcoming an injury, or seniors in our local community ‑ really a wonderful uplifting experience. These people are in on the secret. They know that investing in wellbeing, spending time with each other in communities like ours in Logan city, can be a real difference maker. And so I wanted to thank them for the opportunity to work out with them this morning, to spend time with them, and for hosting us this morning.

The Government's primary focus is on rolling out billions of dollars in cost‑of‑living relief. We understand that Australians are under the pump right now and that's why our number one overriding focus is providing cost‑of‑living relief at the same time as we've overseen the creation of half a million jobs in our first 13 months, a record for a new government, and we're bringing the budget back to surplus as well. And so our primary focus is on strengthening the economy and rolling out that cost‑of‑living help because we understand that people are under the pump. Now our primary focus on cost of living doesn't mean we can't also focus on health and wellbeing, and security and cohesion and prosperity in local communities as well. Australia's first national wellbeing framework is all about trying to better align what we want for our economy with what we want for our communities and our society more broadly. And this is the first attempt at a national wellbeing framework for Australia, and that's what we are releasing today. What we're releasing today is all about trying to broaden the economic conversation, so that we're focusing on health and wellbeing, security, prosperity, cohesion, and sustainability as well. And so across five things in the first national wellbeing framework, we're measuring about 50 different indicators to try and get a better read, in addition to the usual economic indicators, not instead of the usual economic indicators. Now, this is our first crack at it and, obviously, we welcome people's feedback. We want to refine and align this framework as we go forward, but this is a really important start today. This is all about recognising that you can maintain a primary focus on the economy, at the same time as you try and more neatly line up what we want for our society. I think one of the frustrations that we've had for some time, really, is people have wrongly thought that our social objectives and our economic objectives must be in conflict. I think they can be in concert, and that's what the national wellbeing framework is all about. Over to you.

JOURNALIST:

Treasurer, some of the indicators in your wellbeing framework rely on data captured before 2020. Why is that?

CHALMERS:

Well, what we've said, really, from the beginning, is we want to refine this national wellbeing framework as we go. And a really important part of the task is understanding and recognising where there are gaps in the data or where we would like that data to be more up to date. We've made that clear from the beginning, the commentary in the document itself recognises that there are a number of areas where there are limitations in the data, and we need to improve that. And one of the motivations for releasing this first national wellbeing framework is to recognise where we need to do a much better job measuring what matters in our economy and in our society. Now, when it comes to things like mortgage repayments, we get much more up to date and regular reporting on the types of pressures that people are under, as we've confronted this higher inflation and these rising interest rates, and that helps us calibrate and align our cost‑of‑living help with what's happening in the economy. The wellbeing framework is really about the longer term, broader trends in our economy and our society. We've been up‑front in the document in saying there are areas where there are data gaps, where we've had to rely on different kinds of information. But part of the motivation is to make sure that we can do a much better job of measuring things, and I welcome people's feedback about where they think those numbers can be more up to date. That's a good thing. We've deliberately put it out there in this form to get people's feedback, so we can refine it over time.

JOURNALIST:

But in the report, it says that things have improved for mortgage holders. Do you think anyone with a mortgage agrees with that?

CHALMERS:

We've made it clear for some time, almost every time that I speak with you, we talk about understanding the cost‑of‑living pressures that people are confronting, and higher interest rates which began going up before the election are obviously part of the pressure that people feel. We've acknowledged that, that's why our primary focus is on rolling out billions of dollars of cost‑of‑living help. We're doing that at the same time as we're bringing the budget back to surplus, and at the same time as half a million jobs are being created, which is a record for a new government. So our focus is firmly on the pressures that people are under, on rolling out our economic plan, including cost‑of‑living help. But that shouldn't come at the expense of leading a national conversation about how we better align our social and economic objectives.

JOURNALIST:

If this is supposed to provide a snapshot of Australia's progress, how can you do that with out‑of‑date data?

CHALMERS:

I think I've answered that pretty comprehensively. One of the motivations for putting this wellbeing framework out there, is to broaden and focus the conversation on how people are faring in real communities like this one. Now, we recognise and we say in the document itself, that there are areas where we need to do a much better job of measuring our progress. And the motivation for putting this out there is to identify where there are gaps in the data, identify where the data is not up to scratch or not up to date, so that we can work together to paint a much more accurate picture going forward.

JOURNALIST:

Is this misleading, though?

CHALMERS:

I don't think so.

JOURNALIST:

The ACTU says the use of the Non Accelerating Inflation Rate of Unemployment is [inaudible]. Treasury's forecasts are underpinned by the NAIRU. Do you agree with the ACTU?

CHALMERS:

Well, I think this is a really welcome debate about full employment in this country. And before long, I'll be releasing an Employment White Paper and the first priority of that White Paper will be to try and find some common ground about how this country understands full employment. We need to separate out the technical assumption that feeds the forecast, which is the Non Accelerating Inflation Rate of Unemployment, from our objective and our aspiration, which is to create good, secure, well‑paid jobs for everyone who wants one. That's our objective. That's our reason for being and that's what the unions and others have been getting at in their commentary. But we need to understand the difference between those two things. Whether it's the Reserve Bank or the Treasury forecasts, they rely on a technical assumption that's different from an objective or an aspiration. The government's objective and aspiration is to create good, secure well‑paid jobs. In the first 13 months of the Albanese government, there has been half a million jobs created, which is a record for a new government. It puts us in good stead as we confront the global economic uncertainty, which will impact on our economy in the months ahead. Thanks very much.