Interview with Allison Langdon, Today Show, Channel 9
ALLISON LANGDON:
We will bring in now Treasurer Jim Chalmers who joins us from Washington DC. Jim, really appreciate your time. I know you've been watching as this flood emergency is unfolding, particularly in Victoria. It’s significant and a lot of people are scared and potentially a lot of damage.
JIM CHALMERS:
Good morning Ally, just absolutely devastating scenes where Gaby was and in Victoria. Some of that footage is heartbreaking, frankly, and all too familiar for a lot of Australians right around the country, who have had to put up with this kind of extreme flooding. I know that Australians will be there for each other, as they deal with this, and the Government will be there for them as well.
LANGDON:
I tell you what, as a nation, we've copped a lot lately, haven't we?
CHALMERS:
I know from my own neighbourhood, my own community, but from communities right around Australia that this is happening more and more frequently. It's just devastating, and I've been with people as they hose out their homes after the floodwaters recede. I think we wrongly assume that the hardest part is when the waters are rising, that's obviously incredibly difficult, but after the waters subside, there's a real element ‑ people just want to give up sometimes. So we've got to make sure that we keep an eye out for each other, we look out for each other, look after each other and that's certainly the approach the Government will take as well.
LANGDON:
As Treasurer, you control the money so I'm sure you will be there for them when they need it. You're in the States which is obviously having its own dramas ‑ big risk of a recession there. Is that a warning to our Reserve Bank about perhaps the speed and aggressiveness of rate rises?
CHALMERS:
I think right around the world and certainly in the United States, and we have our own version at home, interest rates are rising and that will have an impact on economies. Public enemy number one is this inflation we're all facing. The Americans got a number today for inflation which was much higher than what they were anticipating, and that means that the US Federal Reserve, which is already taking action, will take more action. It's that simple.
Here at the G20 meetings, talking with my counterparts from right around the world, we know that inflation is the biggest threat to our economies. It's come from a range of places, but particularly the war in Ukraine, so we've got to do what we can. The independent central banks will do their bit. For governments, the most important thing we can do is hand down responsible budgets, that's what I intend to do two Tuesdays from now.
LANGDON:
Your Budget, as you said, two Tuesdays from now. You were up‑front with this idea of scrapping stage three tax cuts. Are you mildly irritated the PM shut it down?
CHALMERS:
Not at all, I can hear Karl having a chuckle there, but not at all. The point that I was making last week or the week before is the same point I'm making now, which is we need to put a premium on what's affordable and sustainable, and what’s responsible. That will be the case in the Budget we hand down. We don't intend to change those stage three tax cuts in the Budget in a couple of Tuesdays time, but there will be more broadly a premium on doing the right thing. The absolute best buffer that we can build against all of this global economic uncertainty is a responsible budget, that's why the one I hand down, it won't be fancy, won't be flashy, but it will be responsible, it will be solid and it will be the right Budget for the times.
LANGDON:
Because I think, Jim, and I'm sure you know this, but people are really nervous. People are scared, people are worried ‑ are we going to go into a recession, are they going to lose their jobs, are they going to lose their home. It is a tough time for a lot of people right now.
CHALMERS:
My responsibility to them is to be up‑front with them about what's going on in the economy around the world, in particularly, but what that means for us at home. I think there's no use beating around the bush. I’d rather level with people about the challenges that we're going through, but I also say to people we will get through this. The global economy is treading a narrower and more perilous path. That does have implications for us and we can't pretend that's not the case.
What we do know is we've got a lot going for us. I am personally optimistic about the future of our economy and the future of our people and the future of our country, but first we need to navigate what will be some pretty tricky terrain in the meantime. I've laid out what that looks like and in the Budget, what you'll see is the right and responsible response to what's going on in our economy and the economies around the world.
LANGDON:
You've got a big job, Treasurer. Appreciate your time this morning, thank you.
