JIM CHALMERS MP
SHADOW TREASURER
MEMBER FOR RANKIN

 

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
TELEVISION INTERVIEW
SKY AFTERNOON AGENDA
MONDAY, 14 MARCH 2022

SUBJECTS: Costs of living skyrocketing under Scott Morrison while real wages go backwards; Beer and Fuel Excises; Labor’s plans to help families deal with the rising costs of living; Newspoll, Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese.
 
KIERAN GILBERT, HOST: We’re joined by the Shadow Treasurer, Jim Chalmers. Thanks for your time. Andrew Clennell reporting this afternoon on this program that the government is planning to cut the beer tax in the upcoming budget. Obviously, they haven't confirmed that. But would you welcome such a move?

JIM CHALMERS, SHADOW TREASURER: Let's see what they propose Kieran. Obviously Andrew’s got a record of breaking stories but let's see what the Government actually puts forward. This is a Government which has floated all kinds of ideas over the last little while to try to get themselves out of political trouble. So we’ll wait to see what's on the table; we'll do the right and responsible thing when we respond to that. Nobody is under any illusion that the hospitality industry has been under a lot of pressure, the last couple of years in particular. But when it comes to assistance for that industry or assistance for other industries or assistance for motorists, the job of the Government and the alternative government is to weigh up all of the competing priorities to work out what can be done which is good for working families, good for the budget and good for the economy.

GILBERT: Three Liberal premiers are calling on the government to move on the fuel excise. Economically it probably doesn't make a hell of a lot of sense, given how volatile the oil price is internationally. What do you think should happen there because as you alluded to, people are hurting?

CHALMERS: Under this Government, costs of living are skyrocketing, real wages are going backwards and working families are falling even further behind. Petrol is a big part of that the story about cost of living pressure, but it's not the only part of the story. You’ve got childcare costs and you’ve got groceries going through the roof as well rent and other parts of the family budget. So it's important that we look at this cost of living challenge across the board, in its entirety. We've said already that there's more than one way to deal with these cost of living pressures. Our priority so far has been cleaner and cheaper energy, making childcare cheaper and more accessible for more families, and getting real wages growing again.

GILBERT: A lot of the things though are because of international forces and instability, when it comes to petrol prices and when it comes to wheat, for example, and food prices. There are international forces at play here, which make things difficult for any government to manage, aren’t there?

CHALMERS: Obviously the Russian invasion of Ukraine is having an impact on our economy and having an impact on prices in our economy, whether it's energy prices or food prices – nobody disputes that. But the Treasurer and the Prime Minister are trying to get away with pulling a big swifty here. They want to pretend that the cost of living pressures on Australian working families just all of a sudden showed up two or three weeks ago, whereas the cost of living pressures on families have been building for some time. Wages have been stagnant for the best part of the decade that the Liberals and Nationals have been in office. So we need a bit of honesty from the Government. These pressures have been building for some time. When it comes to the petrol excise, the fuel excise, let's see what the Government proposes. There's another Budget between now and the election. Our commitment to the Australian people is to do what's right by them, right by their budget and right by the economy. That means weighing up all of these competing priorities and being responsible about it. But we said already, there will be genuine cost of living relief for Australian families when it comes to their power bills, their child care bills and trying to get real wages growing again, that's Labor's commitment. The Government has almost entirely vacated the field once again, they want to try and blame it all on Russia and Ukraine. That's part of the story but not the whole story. We'll be upfront with Australians about the cost of living pressures and what might be done to help address them.

GILBERT: When you look at that poll today, preferred Prime Minister, Albanese is alongside preferred Prime Minister Morrison on 42 per cent. Is that encouraging to you? I know obviously Labor are very cautious after 2019. But what's your view on that? What's your reaction to it?

CHALMERS: Obviously, we take absolutely no outcome for granted when it comes to this election partly for the reason you identified but more broadly as well. Opinion polls have not been spectacularly successful at predicting the outcome of elections. We didn't need a poll to tell us the Australian people are working this Prime Minister out. They know that Scott Morrison goes missing when they need him, points the finger and blames others and tries to divide people. As they get to know Anthony Albanese, they know that he shows up, he takes responsibility, and he wants to bring Australians together. So as more and more Australians are focusing on the choice at this election, they are working Scott Morrison out. They are warming to Anthony Albanese. We knew that before this Newspoll.

GILBERT: And the argument that Anthony Albanese is keeping his head down. This is a small target approach. Is that a fair characterisation as a couple of our commentators said just a few moments ago?

CHALMERS: I've never accepted that characterisation. Our job is to be ambitious for the country, and have policies which are economically responsible and affordable, and will make a meaningful difference to the lives of Australian working families. That's our task. We're no less ambitious than we've ever been but we've got fewer policies. We've been very clear about where our priorities lie; cleaner and cheaper energy; dealing with the skill shortage; modernising the NBN; making childcare cheaper and more accessible and a future made in Australia so we can co-invest in the industries and the employers of the future as Anthony Albanese was talking about with our announcement in Townsville today. People know that we are ambitious for them, ambitious for the country, and our policies reflect that.

GILBERT: Jim Chalmers, Shadow Treasurer. Thanks.

CHALMERS: Appreciate it, Kieran. Thank you.

ENDS