JIM CHALMERS MP
SHADOW TREASURER
MEMBER FOR RANKIN
E&OE TRANSCRIPT
DOORSTOP INTERVIEW
LOGAN
WEDNESDAY, 15 DECEMBER 2021
SUBJECTS: MYEFO; The only way to end the Morrison Government’s rorts is to end the Morrison Government; ACCC Chairperson; Scott Morrison bags Queensland for two years now wants to take credit for what’s been achieved here; Scott Morrison campaigning in Brisbane and Ryan; Pensioner Loan Scheme; Costs of living skyrocketing as real wages go backwards.
JIM CHALMERS, SHADOW TREASURER: The mid-year update will be released tomorrow. Economists expect the economy is recovering relatively strongly after that very deep downturn in the September quarter. That is expected, it's unsurprising, and it's welcome, but we can't be complacent about it. This time last year and again in the May Budget, the Treasurer said the economy was roaring back and instead he delivered one of the deepest downturns in the history of the National Accounts.
We want to make sure that as the economy recovers Australian working families aren't getting absolutely smashed by the skyrocketing cost of living at the same time as their real wages are going backwards. It's not a real recovery if working families in this country are going backwards. It's not a real recovery if Australian working families get to the other side of this valley and all they face then is declining real wages and the skyrocketing costs of living. The Prime Minister says he doesn't look in the rear vision mirror and that's because he doesn't want to see all of those Australians that he's left behind.
Josh Frydenberg, of course, will give himself a big pat on the back for the mid-year Budget update but he can't take credit for the recovery after he didn't take responsibility for the downturn. One of the reasons we had such a deep and damaging downturn this year was because of the mistakes that Scott Morrison and Josh Frydenberg made when it came to vaccines, and quarantine, and economic support. Scott Morrison and Josh Frydenberg cannot take credit for a recovery having not taken responsibility for the downturn. This is a Government that always wants to take credit, but never wants to take responsibility.
The Budget would be in much better nick if it wasn't absolutely riddled with rorts from top to bottom. One of the reasons why this Government had multiplied debt before the pandemic, the reason why we've got a trillion dollars in debt now, is because this Government sprays around money for purely political purposes. This Morrison Government manages the Budget in its own political interests and not in your interests. The only way to end the rorts which define this Morrison Government is to end the Morrison Government. We've seen enough of these rorts for much of the past decade spraying money around marginal seats at the expense of people that really need help.
If the Morrison Government's Budget wasn't so riddled with rorts there'd be more room to do the right thing by people when it comes to the NDIS and Medicare. One of the reasons why the Government has flagged there'll be more cuts to come after the election - they won't tell us what they are, but there'll be more cuts to come after the election - and that's because they will always put a higher premium on politically motivated rorts and waste over doing the right thing by people in the NDIS and in Medicare. If this government is re-elected, we will see more rorts and more waste, they will come after middle Australia, they will come after Medicare.
The only way to end this Government's rorts is to end this Government, that much is clear. We pay tribute to the journalistic work of Shane Wright and Katina Curtis. These numbers released today about the stupendous rorts which are happening right around Australia in Coalition marginal seats have come to light despite the Government's best efforts to keep them secret. It is very important that Australians understand that the government is spraying money around for political purposes at the expense of the national economic interest.
No more lectures from these characters about Budget responsibility, the Budget and the economy would be in better nick were it not for a Budget which is absolutely riddled with rorts on Josh Frydenberg and Scott Morrison's watch.
As I said, the mid-year update is tomorrow. If this mid-year update doesn't end the rorts and waste which define this government, then it won't be worth the paper it's written on. If this mid-year update doesn't give middle Australia substantial cost of living relief from skyrocketing prices and declining real wages, then it won't be worth the paper it's written on. If this mid-year update doesn't recognise that Australian working families are being left behind because of skyrocketing prices, and declining real wages, and money being sprayed around in marginal seats, then it won't be worth Australians paying attention to it.
We've had almost a decade of these characters now wasting your money. It's time to end the rorts; it's time to end the Morrison Government. You'll hear more about this from us tomorrow and every day between now and the election.
I've got a couple of other issues that I've been asked to cover off on and then happy to take some questions.
The first one is about the Government's proposed appointment to the ACCC. I want to pay tribute to Rod Sims for a decade in such a key role in the economy. He has performed that role to the best of his abilities, been one of the absolutely crucial players in Australia's economy. I salute him, I pay tribute to him, and I thank him for all of his efforts. The Government has proposed a replacement for Rod Sims. We have nothing against her personally, of course, but we’d expect more consultation as we get closer to the election. I don't know her, I haven't been consulted by the Treasurer on her appointment. We would expect there to be more consultation as we get closer to the election. This process is now in the hands of the states. There's an established role for the states in this and I know that they will make their views known. From our point of view, we have nothing against her personally, but we do want more consultation not just on this appointment, but on any other appointments that the Government intends to make between now and the election.
Scott Morrison is in Queensland today. I hope Scott Morrison comes to Queensland every day, because every day he's here is a reminder that he bagged Queenslanders for the part of two years and now he wants to take credit for everything that we've achieved together. This is a Prime Minister who took pot-shots at Queenslanders, took pot-shots at our Premier, and when Queenslanders achieved so much for each other, he swoops in and tries to take the credit. I think Queenslanders are on to this Prime Minister. I think that they do understand that he wasn't on our side throughout this pandemic, and now at five minutes to midnight with an election in the offing, he wants to pretend that he was on our side all along.
Queenslanders aren't stupid, they know that Annastacia Palaszczuk did the right thing by us, they know that we did the right thing by each other, they know that Scott Morrison as always went missing, tried to pick fights with us, tried to pick fights with our Premier, and now because there's an election a few months away he wants to swoop in and take credit. I hope he comes here frequently because he is a reminder of all of those two years of bagging Queenslanders and our Premier and now trying to take credit for what we've achieved together.
It's very interesting that he's in Brisbane and Ryan. These are two seats held by local Members who are desperate for the local community not to know that they have Barnaby Joyce's policy on climate change. The Liberal Member for Brisbane and the Liberal Member for Ryan have the same approach to climate change as Barnaby Joyce. And the people in those electorates want something meaningful done on climate, they want a federal anti-corruption commission. They want these necessary changes made but the local Members there have the same position on those key issues as Barnaby Joyce, and that will be an issue in this election. If Scott Morrison was confident he wouldn't be knocking around Ryan, he wouldn't be knocking around Brisbane. He wouldn't be trying to pretend that those local Members don't have the same climate change policy as Barnaby Joyce.
The last issue is around the Pensioner Loan Scheme. We've known for some time that the take-up of this scheme was too low and the interest rate was too high. We'll have a good look at what the Government is proposing this week, we'll be constructive as always. This has been a program that's been around for a long time now. It hasn't worked as governments have intended or hoped that it would. That's because the interest rate has been too high, take up has been too low. Let's see what the Government's proposing, we'll respond constructively at the right time.
Over to you.
JOURNALIST: It's summer, things are starting to heat politically in the lead up to the election. What do the people of Rankin have to look forward to?
CHALMERS: I think the people of Rankin, and more broadly the people of Australia, can look forward to a better future under Anthony Albanese - doing something meaningful on the skills shortage, doing something meaningful on climate change, having a national anti-corruption commission. So many positive policies that Anthony Albanese and his united team have put forward to grow the economy the right way, in a way that doesn't leave Australian working families behind. The contrast couldn't be clearer. We've got a Prime Minister who always wants to pick fights and divide people, always wants to play politics, wants to rort and waste money out of the Budget. Versus an Albanese Labor Government that would invest wisely in the future of this country and its people - whether that be free TAFE, whether it be a better NBN, whether it be lower energy costs, and more investment and more jobs that comes from doing something meaningful on climate change. The contrast is really clear. This election will be Australians opportunity to cast their judgment on Scott Morrison and almost a decade of this failed and failing Liberal National Government. Given all that's gone on over that decade of wage stagnation, and rorted budgets, and all of the other issues that we've talked about today, Australians don't just have an opportunity to throw Scott Morrison out they got an obligation to do that, so that we can have a better, stronger society and economy after COVID than before.
JOURNALIST: Mr Chalmers, I know you've been particularly vocal on the costs of living skyrocketing. What does the Albanese Government have planned to help reduce the cost of living for ordinary Australians?
CHALMERS: Whether it's petrol costs, or rent, or some of the other essential costs of living, they've been skyrocketing at the same time as real wages have been going backwards under this Morrison Government. What we've said all along, is if you want to get wages moving you've got to attack the cancer of insecure work in this economy and in these communities. We've got policies around insecure work, making sure that labour hire doesn't eat away at people's wages and conditions, making sure that we can turn insecure jobs into more secure jobs. We've got a raft of policies around training, around energy, universities, NBN. All of these are designed to grow the economy in the right way, and the right way to grow the economy is in a way where ordinary working families across middle Australia aren't left behind. They have been and are being left behind by this Liberal National Government.
JOURNALIST: The upcoming election campaign, do you think it will be clean or do you think things can get a little messy?
CHALMERS: It remains to be seen. Certainly our intention is to outline a positive alternative. I thought Anthony Albanese did an outstanding job talking about what a better future looks like under Labor a couple of Sundays ago when he outlined our plans for climate, and TAFE, and universities, and some of the other issues that I've discussed. We want the election to be a contest of ideas but it will also be a referendum on the last ten years of economic mismanagement, stagnant wages, rorted budgets, a trillion dollars in debt with not enough to show for it. These are key issues in the election and whether it's in March or May, we'll be ready to prosecute those arguments and to set up a positive, alternative future, a better future for Australia under Anthony Albanese and Labor.
ENDS
