E&OE TRANSCRIPT
TELEVISION INTERVIEW
SBS NEWS
MONDAY, 13 JULY 2020

SUBJECTS: Income tax returns; JobKeeper; JobSeeker.

JOURNALIST: Do you welcome the news today about the stimulus kicking in?

JIM CHALMERS, SHADOW TREASURER: I think it's really important that this money is out the door and circulating in an economy which desperately needs it. So many people are doing it really tough in this first recession in almost three decades and we need to see them supported. We need to see that money flowing through the economy because businesses, families and communities right around Australia are doing it really, really tough.

JOURNALIST: Do you think there needs to be a third round maybe even a third or fourth round down the track?

CHALMERS: Let's see what the Government's review into JobKeeper and JobSeeker says but clearly, when the Government put these policies together, they were working on the Prime Minister's assumption that the economy would just snap back to normal in September. Nobody credible really expects that to be the case right across the economy and the Reserve Bank, Deloitte Access Economics and others have said that we're going to have higher unemployment for longer and that means that we need to see support in the economy for longer as well. The Government needs to be coming forward with a proper plan to support people who are at risk of being left behind in this recession, but also to start to chart a path towards recovery; a plan for jobs, a plan to support workers, pensioners and families. They have delayed coming out with that plan so far. For the community to get the certainty they need and deserve we need to hear from the Government as soon as possible.

JOURNALIST: On JobSeeker, Labor were previously calling for a raise in Newstart. Do you think it is now at a point where there has to be a permanent increase of some sort past September?

CHALMERS: It's been very clear for some time now that the old Newstart rate of $40 a day isn't enough for people to support themselves or to look for work. That rate has been bad for individuals and also for the broader economy. The economy is struggling right now in this recession and people are struggling too. They won't make it on $40 a day and nor will the shops and small businesses of our communities prosper without there being some more spending power in the economy. When the new JobSeeker payment is revealed, it should be higher than the old Newstart payment. That would be good for people and it would be good for the economy as well if it was higher.

JOURNALIST: At the same rate JobSeeker is at, at the moment? Or should it be decreased?

CHALMERS: We haven't been prepared to put a number on it. One of the reasons why we want the Government to update the budget is because the Government needs to take into account all sorts of considerations about the state of the budget and state of the economy. We expect that the new JobSeeker rate will be lower than what it is right now, but it should be higher than the old Newstart rate.

JOURNALIST: The Treasurer said today that in terms of the lockdown with Victoria's experience we have one country and two stages right now; Victoria being in lockdown and other states that are going okay. Do you see it that way? And do you think the economy can afford further lockdowns?

CHALMERS: I think people have been expecting really from the beginning of this diabolical health crisis that there would be outbreaks in different parts of the country. The impacts would be felt differently depending on where you are in Australia and that's what we're seeing at the moment. Our Victorian friends are obviously doing it incredibly tough right now. These new restrictions have been made necessary by the spike in infections, and that obviously has consequences for the economy as well. Every business person and I think the broader community as well would love it if these restrictions weren't necessary but the sad reality is that for some time, there will need to be measures taken, like what's being taken in Victoria, to protect people from the virus but also to protect the economy to the extent that we can from more outbreaks.

JOURNALIST: Do you think there is a point where it becomes too much for the economy though with the threat of constant outbreaks for potentially the next two years until there’s a vaccine?

CHALMERS: Clearly, already for a lot of businesses and a lot of workers, it's already sent them to the wall. That's why we need to see the Government come clean on their plan for JobKeeper and JobSeeker and update the budget. There's a lot of uncertainty in the community. There's a lot of people doing it tough and they don't know what the world's going to look like in September or October. The Government has two choices really, that can add to that uncertainty by keeping that JobKeeper review secret, or they can seek to alleviate that uncertainly by releasing the JobKeeper review and giving people a bit of a sense of what they intend to do in the coming months.

JOURNALIST: Thanks.