Interview with Charles Croucher, Nine News, Channel 9
CHARLES CROUCHER:
Power prices are forecast to rise 20 per cent this year, 30 per cent the year after that. How can Australians afford it, particularly given some of them would be banking that $275 that was promised to them during the election?
JIM CHALMERS:
One of the reasons why this Budget is so responsible is because we do have an inflation challenge. And a bigger and bigger part of that will be what's happening in global energy markets and what that means for the price of electricity. A lot has happened since that modeling was released. It remains the case, though, that renewable energy is cheaper and cleaner energy. It hasn't helped that we've had a decade of energy policy chaos, we need to put that right.
CROUCHER:
You seem to have inherited this, I know, but the whole country has inherited it and the whole country has to pay these bills.
CHALMERS:
We understand that this puts a lot of pressure on family budgets as will the impact of the natural disasters putting upward pressure on grocery prices. We've got an inflation challenge. That's why the Budget is so responsible - it's right for the times but it also readies us for the future.
CROUCHER:
That's going to drive up household budgets, which is going to in turn impact on household spending. It falls off a cliff in the next 12 months. Are you worried about what that does for small businesses that have already been through so much?
CHALMERS:
Of course I am. We are predicting in the Budget - or Treasury's forecasting in the Budget - a slowdown in the economy - a big reason for that is because consumption comes off a bit. That's partly a consequence of higher interest rates eating into household budgets, but there are other causes of that as well. And so one of the reasons why we're providing this cost-of-living relief, one of the reasons why we're investing in a stronger, more resilient economy is because we've got a big inflation challenge and that's guided the very, very responsible approach we've taken in this Budget, which is solid and sensible and suited to the times.
CROUCHER:
You've called it responsible, you've called it tough. Have you been tough enough?
CHALMERS:
I think so. I think we've struck the right balance. There's more spending restraint in this Budget than there has been for some years. There's trimming spending, and that hasn't been a feature of recent budgets. So this is more responsible than our predecessors were, it's a key reason why debt will be lower under us over these forward estimates than would have been under our predecessors, but we will have more to show for that because we're making the right investments in the right places in a way that doesn't push up inflation.
CROUCHER:
Katy Gallagher and her team have gone through and found a lot of savings. One of the noted things is $120 million being spent to find rorting in NDIS. How bad is that rorting if you've got 120 million being spent to find it?
CHALMERS:
This is the key reason why we're making that investment. Bill Shorten and other ministers, we want to make sure that every dollar spent in the NDIS is making life easier for vulnerable Australians with a disability. We want to put people at the centre of the NDIS. We recognise the cost is going up. It's one of the reasons why there is more and more pressure on the Budget over time and so the review that Minister Shorten has put together is all about making sure it's more sustainable and delivers for people with a disability.
CROUCHER:
Last question. We assume there's a light at the end of the tunnel - things do get better in 2024. But we know lights are going to be expensive as we get there as well. What do you say to people to get them through these next 12 months because it feels like it's going to be white knuckle?
CHALMERS:
This Budget is for Australians who battle through hard times and still believe in a better future. And I'm optimistic about the future of our economy and the future of our country, but we have some difficult times to navigate in the meantime. Australians are familiar with that. They are good at getting through hard times and we hope the Budget helps them.
CROUCHER:
Treasurer, thank you.
