Doorstop interview, Parliament House, Canberra
JIM CHALMERS:
Six months since the election a lot has been achieved but more progress is in reach in what will be a really important parliamentary sitting fortnight. This is the Parliament's big chance to get wages moving again by fixing a broken bargaining system which has delivered a decade of wage stagnation. Getting wages moving again is a deliberate design feature of the Albanese Government's economic policies. Nothing would make our opponents happier than another decade of wage stagnation like that which they delivered to the Australian people. When you've got this cost‑of‑living crunch, one of the most important things you can do is get wages moving in a strong and sustainable way. The absence of that strong and sustainable wages growth has been a defining feature of our predecessors' failures on the economy. We take a different approach. We are engaging respectfully with the crossbench in the Senate and with business and with the union movement and other interested parties to make sure that we can pass this legislation this year in the interests of Australian workers to get their wages moving again by fixing a broken bargaining system.
JOURNALIST:
Just on energy prices, any details this morning on how they could be cheaper?
CHALMERS:
As we've indicated, we are looking for ways to take some of the sting out of these high energy prices which are punishing Australians and Australian industry and employers as well. Later today I'll be engaging with the manufacturing sector, in particular, and Australian industry more broadly. We will have more to say on our plans for the energy market by the end of the year. There's a lot of complexity here, there are a lot of considerations to weigh up, we have made it very clear that we are interested in a temporary, meaningful, responsible, sensible intervention in the energy market to help to take the sting out of some of these high energy prices. We will have more to say about that before the end of the year.
High energy prices are a consequence of Russian aggression and Coalition incompetence - those are the two factors which are feeding into these high and rising energy prices. The war in Ukraine is causing havoc with energy markets worldwide, we've had a decade of denial and delay from our predecessors which has meant more energy capacity has come out of the system than gone in and that has made us more vulnerable to these international shocks, so we will do our best to deal with the consequences of Russian aggression and Coalition incompetence in our energy markets. Australians and Australian industry are paying a hefty price for that Russian aggression and that Coalition incompetence and we will do what we can to intervene in a temporary, meaningful, responsible, sensible way to see if we can take some of the sting out of that.
JOURNALIST:
You say by the end of the year, but there's only two weeks of sitting left. Can you commit to do anything within the next fortnight?
CHALMERS:
We've made it clear that we are acting with some urgency here but there are a lot of considerations and complexities to weigh up. Our intention is to announce our approach here before Christmas, as we've said. We will deal with any of the legislative or regulatory issues as they arise. This is a complex issue that we're dealing with. It has big consequences for Australians and for Australian and industry. We are acting with some urgency but we're also making sure that we get it right - that we weigh up all of the considerations and complexities and we'll act as soon as we can.
Thanks very much.
