Interview with Katie Woolf, 360, Mix 104.9, Darwin

KATIE WOOLF:

Joining us on the line is the Federal Treasurer, Jim Chalmers. Good morning to you, Treasurer.

JIM CHALMERS:

Good morning, Katie. How's your training going?

WOOLF:

Training for the marathon - very well, very well. Legs are a bit sore though, mate, I did 11k's yesterday and they're quite sore. But anyway, you are in the Northern Territory tomorrow to obviously speak at the Property Council's Breakfast, what's the focus for you while you are in the Territory?

CHALMERS:

I'm actually hitting town today, I'll be there today and tomorrow. A good opportunity to catch up with Chief Minister Fyles and also Treasurer Lawler, but I'll also be addressing the business community thanks to the Property Council. But one of the things I'm super excited about is we'll be out at the CDU tomorrow to turn the sod on the really terrific health training facility that we've helped to fund. Because we think a big part of the future of the Northern Territory is the care economy, in addition to tourism and resources and some of your other strengths. And because we think that the Australian economy is going to slow up a bit, in the months ahead, it's really important that we make these investments in the Northern Territory. The NT is front and centre when it comes to our economic plans. I'm looking forward to spending a couple of days there talking with local leaders and others about how we make these investments in a really important part of the country.

WOOLF:

And no doubt CDU is the future for us in terms of training and making sure that we have got people to fill various jobs right around the Territory. One of the issues we've got though right now, which I'm sure you are aware of - is international students, obviously quite a few international students traveling to the Territory to study - but a lack of accommodation for them. So can we anticipate any kind of announcements or any assistance from the Federal Government to try to help out in this space?

CHALMERS:

Well, one of the reasons why I'm looking forward to spending some time with the Property Council is because we've got a big agenda when it comes to housing in the NT. That's why we want to pass our Housing Australia Future Fund through the Senate so that we can build more homes for students but for others as well. That's a really important thing to remember that even with everything that's coming at us from around the world, the Northern Territory's created something like 3600 jobs in the first year of the Albanese Government. And so we need to find a place, we need to find a way for people to live near where these jobs and opportunities are being created and I'm working really closely with your terrific Treasurer Eva Lawler on the Housing Accord which is about getting more investment into more homes. The Budget had initiatives around tax breaks for build to rent properties. So all of this together in addition to our increase - the Rent Assistance - is about trying to make the housing market better for the people of the Northern Territory and I'm looking forward to talking to people about that, too.

WOOLF:

Could we see some additional funding for the Northern Territory when it comes to student accommodation?

CHALMERS:

Well, certainly our students are a big focus of the Housing Accord. So what we're trying to do there, Eva and I, is attract more investment into that area. Because we think CDU is a terrific place, we can understand why people want to come from around the world and around the country to study at CDU, particularly when we invest in health training facilities like we're doing. And so in the Housing Accord, one of the things we've been speaking with the superannuation funds and others about, is how do we get more investment in housing for students so they can live near where they study, and I'll be talking with Eva about that in the next couple of days.

WOOLF:

Well, we'll wait and see exactly what comes out of those discussions. Now Treasurer, cost of living - it's one of the biggest issues across Australia right now - and we here in the Northern Territory are no different. I know that figures were released yesterday in Anglicare Australia's living costs index, they've revealed that the grim reality facing 2.75 million Australians - the lowest paid workers and their families - a full time worker earning a minimum wage has just $57 left after essential weekly expenses, while a family of four on the same rate has only got $73 remaining. That's what this new analysis has shown. What's being done to try to bring down the cost of living for Australians, but particularly here in the Territory?

CHALMERS:

The most important focus of the Budget we handed down in May is to try and take some of this sting out of these cost‑of‑living pressures, because we do understand that Territorians are under the pump. And so whether it's our investment in bulk billing, whether it's our Energy Relief Plan, working closely with the NT Government to provide some bill relief, whether it's the biggest increased Rent Assistance in 30 years, changes to JobSeeker and other payments. Really right across the board, what we tried to do here, is recognising that people are under pressure, as you rightly point out and as that report rightly points out, and to try and make life a little bit easier at the same time as we manage the budget as responsibly as we can. If you made a list of the big challenges that we've got in the NT and around Australia, at the very top of the list in the economy would be these cost‑of‑living pressures. And we understand that, and that's why we had that $15 billion cost‑of‑living relief package in the Budget.

WOOLF:

It really feels at the moment, though, not only as though those low income earners and families are struggling if they are on those lower wages, but middle Australia is really copping it with these interest rates continuing to rise. It was reported yesterday in the Sydney Morning Herald that the high interest rates are expected to make the Australian economy one of the worst performed across the Asia Pacific over the next two years. The concern here is, of course, the lagging effect of previous interest rate increases. So what work is being done right now to really try to combat this? Because the fact of the matter is, we're expecting further interest rate rises, is the impression that I'm getting, you've got a lot of people really sort of hanging on for dear life with their mortgages.

CHALMERS:

Yeah, I understand that too, Katie. First of all - the first part of your question about wages - this is the big reason why we support it, and welcome the decent increase in the minimum wage, but also why - whether it's aged care workers or in other industries - we are trying to get wages growing in a responsible and sustainable way again. They've been too stagnant for too long in our economy. And on interest rates, I think it's true that when interest rates go up, it does make life a lot harder for people right throughout middle Australia, there's no doubt about that. And you're right to point out that the decisions taken by the independent Reserve Bank, they put pressure on people and on the economy with a lag. And so the impact is fully felt, well it's felt immediately by people with a mortgage, but it takes a little bit longer for the impacts to be felt in the economy. And so these are the sorts of things that the Reserve Bank Board weighs up. I try not to second guess or pre‑empt decisions that they might take in the future. My job is a bit different there. And they're responsible for interest rates, I'm responsible for the budget, and in the Budget we're trying to provide that cost‑of‑living relief without making this inflation challenge even worse.

WOOLF:

How big a balancing act is it though for you at the moment, as the Treasurer of Australia, to really try your best to not see the country go into recession?

CHALMERS:

Well, I think it's important to remember that both the Treasury and the Reserve Bank, their forecasts for the economy are that it will continue to grow. But I've tried to be really upfront with people the whole time I've been Treasurer, and I want to be upfront with your listeners today as well, Katie, and say that we do expect the Australian economy to slow considerably. That's what happens when you have all of these interest rate rises which began before the election and continued afterwards. And that's what happens when you've got a pretty substantial slowdown in the global economy as well and we're not immune from that. And so we've been upfront and said we expect the economy to slow, that's why the Budget was about trying to make life a little bit easier for people at the same time as we invest in ways to grow our economy out of this slowdown. And again, there's infrastructure investment in the Northern Territory, that's some of the things we've already talked about, about investing in the care economy and in other ways, because we want to make sure that this slowdown that we're expecting in our economy and in the global economy, we want to get people through to the other side. And in doing that, we want to make Darwin and the Northern Territory a big part of the story of an economy which is as resilient as possible.

WOOLF:

And it's a tough juggle, right? Even when we're talking about housing just a moment ago, talking about wages, but then talking about people with mortgages, and some people really being on the brink of going broke to put it really bluntly. And what's going to be the situation for them in terms of trying to hang on to their mortgages and then needing somewhere to live if they're not able to?

CHALMERS:

So on this, Katie, I wanted your listeners to know as well, I've spoken to all of the CEOs of the major banks in the aftermath of that most recent rate rise. And what I wanted to convey to people and what they want to convey to people is if you are in trouble with your mortgage, the best thing you can do is engage your bank as soon as possible. They do have provisions in place and people in place to try and help people get through a difficult patch, there's a range of different ways that they can try and help you. And so I'd encourage anyone who's listening to the show this morning, if these rate rises are making you fear that you can't make your repayments, the best thing you can do is engage early because there's a number of things that the banks are prepared to do to try and help you get to the other side of what is a difficult period.

WOOLF:

Treasurer, let's talk about the Northern Territory specifically right now, we know that there is obviously plenty of issues that we're facing, cost of living is an enormous concern for a lot of people, as is crime. But the issue of crime in Alice Springs has been on the agenda for some time, the Northern Territory Government continues to call for needs‑based funding when it comes to domestic violence, because we know that domestic violence is having a huge impact when we talk about police resourcing, the number of call outs they're getting each and every day. Is the federal government looking at providing needs‑based funding when it comes to domestic violence?

CHALMERS:

What we've shown I think, Katie, in all of the discussions we've had with the Northern Territory Government, and also on the ground in Alice Springs as well, is we are prepared to help fund addressing some of these entrenched challenges that we have in communities like Alice. And the $250 million investment that we announced not that long ago, we're rolling that out, and obviously part of that is around justice and law and order, trying to keep people safe. And so my colleague Linda Burney, the Prime Minister's certainly engaged on this and other colleagues as well. We've tried to listen to the Territory Government and also the people on the ground, and provide the funding that is needed. Obviously, those conversations are always ongoing but we've shown that we are prepared to put serious Commonwealth money into improving the situation on the ground.

WOOLF:

So obviously, there's been an enormous investment in terms of that more than $200 million, but it doesn't sound as though there is going to be a change in the way that things are funded to a needs‑based model for the territory when it comes to domestic violence.

CHALMERS:

We're certainly funding the needs on the ground as we understand them and as we see them. And even separate to that $250 million investment, specifically in Central Australia, we've got big well‑funded programs when it comes to domestic and family violence as well, and so obviously, the Northern Territory is entitled to part of that funding as well. And so I guess what I'm trying to say, Katie, is that we've shown that we're prepared to try and be part of a solution here. Obviously, those conversations are ongoing, I get to work with Eva Lawler who's a terrific Treasurer up there and Chief Minister Fyles as well. We understand the challenges, we're doing our best to listen, and we're funding programs where we can. No doubt there will be calls for more funding in different areas over time, we listen respectfully and we do what we can.

WOOLF:

Treasurer Jim Chalmers, Federal Treasurer, we really appreciate your time this morning. Thanks very much for taking the time to have a chat to us ahead of your trip to the Territory.

CHALMERS:

I really appreciate it, Katie, thanks very much.